RESUMO
Executive functioning deficits are prominent in children with epilepsy. Although instruments, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), are useful in detecting executive dysfunction in school-age children with epilepsy, little data are available for younger children. The present study evaluates the ability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to detect executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy. Parents of 51 clinically referred children with epilepsy (age: M = 1.99 years, SD = 1.29 years, range = 2-5 years) completed the BRIEF-P. Using a cutoff t score of ≥65 as the threshold for impairment, the BRIEF-P's ability to detect executive dysfunction within this clinical population was established. Additionally, correlational analyses were used to assess the relations between epilepsy severity factors and BRIEF-P indices. Epilepsy severity variables that were significantly related to BRIEF-P indices were entered into a linear regression model to explore their predictive ability. Emergent metacognition (emergent metacognition index [EMI]; 59%) and the global executive composite (43%) were the most frequently elevated indices. The most commonly elevated subscales were working memory (65%), inhibition (37%), and planning/organization (35%). Age of seizure onset, seizure frequency, and number of antiepileptic drugs were not significantly correlated with BRIEF-P indices. However, children with lower intellectual ability were rated as having greater executive dysfunction, specifically with EMI (r = -.30). Still, intellectual functioning only accounted for a small percentage (9%) of the variance in EMI scores. The current pilot study demonstrates that the BRIEF-P shows promise in identifying executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy.