Whilst textbooks covering adult neuropsychology have been common, up until the last decade texts dedicated solely to paediatric neuropsychology have not. As Hunter and Donders point out, the recent proliferation reflects growing enthusiasm in the area and its development into a field in its own right. The uniqueness of this text is its focus upon intervention, rather than assessment in paediatric neuropsychology. However, as will be evident to many, separating assessment and intervention is difficult, with assessment often acting as intervention in itself. Therefore, at several points in the book, the emphasis on assessment is stronger than may be expected given the title.
The book is a collection of 22 concise chapters written by a range of contributors from North America. The book begins with a brief introductory chapter, in which it is stated that the authors have ‘sought recent and accumulating information to support the field's goals of defining the best means for remediating, supporting, and accommodating children and adolescents with developmental and neurocognitive difficulties’ (p. 4). The introduction is followed by chapters covering issues fundamental to paediatric neuropsychology including taking a developmental approach, research, empirical aspects, multicultural aspects and use within the educational system. Whilst the majority of the book would be of international interest, this final chapter of the first section specifically relates to the educational system in North America.
The subsequent section is made up of several chapters, covering a number of congenital or acquired neuropsychological disorders of childhood. A major strength of the book is the broad range of conditions covered, with a chapter dedicated to each of the following: traumatic brain injury, cancer, seizure disorders, autism spectrum disorders, right hemisphere disorders, genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities, attentional disorders, dysexecutive disorders, movement disorders and disorders of motor control and coordination. Each chapter typically begins with a summary of the biological basis, together with information about diagnosis, clinical presentation, neuropsychological findings and treatment approaches. There is some inconsistency in the focus of the chapters, with some not straying far from the discussion of assessment, some discussing just those interventions specific to the neurocognitive deficit and others including a broad discussion of interventions including treatments for secondary difficulties associated with the specific disorder. However, where discussions of interventions are lacking, this is often not due to omission, but instead reflects the paucity of research in the area.
The third, somewhat eclectic, section covers a broader discussion of interventions with chapters covering pharmacological interventions, quantitative electroencephalography and neurofeedback, neuroimaging, cognitive rehabilitation and neuropsychological rehabilitation of school-age children. This section adds yet greater breadth to the book and offers an interesting glimpse into future directions for the field. The book is finished off nicely by a single chapter in the final section that summarizes the preceding chapters and attempts to highlight ‘the take home lessons’. What is evident from the book is that paediatric neuropsychology remains a newly developing area, but despite limitations in the available research literature, significant advances in the area and growing interest indicate much promise for the future of the field.
The style of the book is largely academic and whilst the focus on the research literature is a strength, I felt that it often failed to make the bridge to everyday clinical practice. A reader new to the area may have finished the book not having a sense of what happens in practice and I feel the book would have benefited from more case vignettes and examples to bring the discussion to life. However, this was not necessarily a goal of the book and instead the focus on the up-to-date evidence in the area was a strong point.
Overall, the book should appeal to a wide audience, providing a concise review across a broad range of neuropsychological disorders and related issues. By summarizing the latest evidence and frequent discussion of ‘future directions’ the book provides an interesting picture of the current state of paediatric neuropsychology.
