Potential Anomalous Findings on the Cerberus Subtest of the TEACh 2 in a Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Cohort

Abstract

Introduction: The Test of Everyday Attention for Children 2 (TEA-Ch 2) is a rigorously tested measure of attention, often used in pediatric neuro-oncology settings. Data from one Primary Treatment Centre found a high proportion of children scored in the highest range on the Cerberus subtest. This brief report attempts to answer the question: Does the Cerberus subtest of the TEA-Ch 2 provide outlying scores in the pediatric neuro-oncology population?

Methods: Data representing 62 Cerberus assessments from four primary treatment centers were analyzed.

Results: Data showed a substantially higher level of performance on the Cerberus subtest compared to other TEA-Ch2 subtests. Scores were not only higher than expected relative to children's performance on other subtests but also higher than would be expected in the general population.

Discussion: Within our data, performance on the Cerberus subset of the TEA-Ch 2 yields somewhat questionable data from which to draw conclusions regarding sustained attentional ability in a pediatric neuro-oncology cohort.

Keywords: Attention; Brain Tumor; TEACh 2; Test of Everyday Attention for Children; Validity.