View in EDS

Narrative Ability in Swedish Children Treated for Posterior Fossa Tumours: Macro- and Microstructural Performance before and 1-4 Weeks after Surgery

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Narrative Ability in Swedish Children Treated for Posterior Fossa Tumours: Macro- and Microstructural Performance before and 1-4 Weeks after Surgery
Language: English
Authors: K. Persson (ORCID 0000-0001-8255-4856), D. Boeg Thomsen (ORCID 0000-0001-7387-0443), K. Andersson (ORCID 0000-0003-2680-9660), I. Tiberg (ORCID 0000-0001-6057-491X), C. Castor, J. Grønbaek, R. Mathiasen, Å. Fyrberg
Source: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2026 61(3).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Children, Brain, Cancer, Speech Impairments, Communication Problems, Morphology (Languages), Syntax, Cognitive Ability, Surgery, Scores, Grammar, Error Patterns, Narration, Language Skills, Oral Language
Geographic Terms: Sweden
DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.70248
ISSN: 1368-2822
1460-6984
Abstract: Background: Posterior fossa tumours (PFT), among the most common childhood brain tumours, place children at risk of speech, language, and communication difficulties, often described in relation to cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) but also seen in children without mutism. Narrative ability refers to the capacity to understand, create, and share stories. Narratives can be analysed at the macrostructural level, capturing structure and content, and the microstructural level, reflecting, for example, morphosyntax and lexicon. Narrative ability has not previously been investigated in children with PFT at both levels, including pre- and postoperative data, or in relation to CMS or dysarthria. Aims: The aims were to investigate narrative ability at macrostructural and microstructural levels in children with PFT compared with typically developing (TD) peers, to investigate pre- to postoperative changes at both levels in children with PFT, and to examine relations between macro- and microstructure and the presence of CMS and dysarthria. Methods: A story-generation task from the Expression, Reception and Recall of Narrative Instrument (ERRNI) was administered pre- and postoperatively, in the early postoperative phase (1-4 weeks after surgery). Macrostructure was analysed using ideascore, and microstructure using mean length of utterance in words (MLUw), grammaticality (GY), subordination index (SI), lexical diversity (MATTR), and words per minute (WPM). Group comparisons and associations with CMS and dysarthria were analysed using linear regressions, and changes over time with mixed-effects models. Results: Children with PFT scored significantly lower than TD peers on the macrostructural measure ideascore and on several microstructural measures, including MLUw, GY, and WPM, both pre- and postoperatively (all p < 0.05). SI and MATTR did not differ between groups. Difficulties were most pronounced among older children. No significant pre- to postoperative changes were found, although individual variability was evident. The small group of children with CMS did not differ significantly from other children with PFT, while those with postoperative dysarthria showed a decline in both macro- and microstructure (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Children with PFT showed pre- and postoperative difficulties at macro- and microstructural levels, producing narratives with fewer story elements, shorter utterances, and more grammatical errors compared with TD peers. The age-related differences suggest that narrative difficulties become more prominent as language and cognitive demands increase. The findings underline the clinical importance of including narrative tasks encompassing macro- and microstructural aspects, together with motor-speech evaluation, in assessment and follow-up of children treated for PFT to guide appropriate interventions.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1506915
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1506915
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Narrative Ability in Swedish Children Treated for Posterior Fossa Tumours: Macro- and Microstructural Performance before and 1-4 Weeks after Surgery
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22K%2E+Persson%22&quot;&gt;K. Persson&lt;/searchLink&gt; (ORCID &lt;externalLink term=&quot;https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8255-4856&quot;&gt;0000-0001-8255-4856&lt;/externalLink&gt;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22D%2E+Boeg+Thomsen%22&quot;&gt;D. Boeg Thomsen&lt;/searchLink&gt; (ORCID &lt;externalLink term=&quot;https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7387-0443&quot;&gt;0000-0001-7387-0443&lt;/externalLink&gt;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22K%2E+Andersson%22&quot;&gt;K. Andersson&lt;/searchLink&gt; (ORCID &lt;externalLink term=&quot;https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2680-9660&quot;&gt;0000-0003-2680-9660&lt;/externalLink&gt;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22I%2E+Tiberg%22&quot;&gt;I. Tiberg&lt;/searchLink&gt; (ORCID &lt;externalLink term=&quot;https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6057-491X&quot;&gt;0000-0001-6057-491X&lt;/externalLink&gt;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22C%2E+Castor%22&quot;&gt;C. Castor&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22J%2E+Gr&#248;nbaek%22&quot;&gt;J. Gr&#248;nbaek&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22R%2E+Mathiasen%22&quot;&gt;R. Mathiasen&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22&#197;%2E+Fyrberg%22&quot;&gt;&#197;. Fyrberg&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;SO&quot; term=&quot;%22International+Journal+of+Language+%26+Communication+Disorders%22&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;International Journal of Language &amp; Communication Disorders&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/searchLink&gt;. 2026 61(3).
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 17
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles&lt;br /&gt;Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Foreign+Countries%22&quot;&gt;Foreign Countries&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Children%22&quot;&gt;Children&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Brain%22&quot;&gt;Brain&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Cancer%22&quot;&gt;Cancer&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Speech+Impairments%22&quot;&gt;Speech Impairments&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Communication+Problems%22&quot;&gt;Communication Problems&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Morphology+%28Languages%29%22&quot;&gt;Morphology (Languages)&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Syntax%22&quot;&gt;Syntax&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Cognitive+Ability%22&quot;&gt;Cognitive Ability&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Surgery%22&quot;&gt;Surgery&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Scores%22&quot;&gt;Scores&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Grammar%22&quot;&gt;Grammar&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Error+Patterns%22&quot;&gt;Error Patterns&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Narration%22&quot;&gt;Narration&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Language+Skills%22&quot;&gt;Language Skills&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Oral+Language%22&quot;&gt;Oral Language&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Sweden%22&quot;&gt;Sweden&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1111/1460-6984.70248
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1368-2822&lt;br /&gt;1460-6984
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: Posterior fossa tumours (PFT), among the most common childhood brain tumours, place children at risk of speech, language, and communication difficulties, often described in relation to cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) but also seen in children without mutism. Narrative ability refers to the capacity to understand, create, and share stories. Narratives can be analysed at the macrostructural level, capturing structure and content, and the microstructural level, reflecting, for example, morphosyntax and lexicon. Narrative ability has not previously been investigated in children with PFT at both levels, including pre- and postoperative data, or in relation to CMS or dysarthria. Aims: The aims were to investigate narrative ability at macrostructural and microstructural levels in children with PFT compared with typically developing (TD) peers, to investigate pre- to postoperative changes at both levels in children with PFT, and to examine relations between macro- and microstructure and the presence of CMS and dysarthria. Methods: A story-generation task from the Expression, Reception and Recall of Narrative Instrument (ERRNI) was administered pre- and postoperatively, in the early postoperative phase (1-4 weeks after surgery). Macrostructure was analysed using ideascore, and microstructure using mean length of utterance in words (MLUw), grammaticality (GY), subordination index (SI), lexical diversity (MATTR), and words per minute (WPM). Group comparisons and associations with CMS and dysarthria were analysed using linear regressions, and changes over time with mixed-effects models. Results: Children with PFT scored significantly lower than TD peers on the macrostructural measure ideascore and on several microstructural measures, including MLUw, GY, and WPM, both pre- and postoperatively (all p &lt; 0.05). SI and MATTR did not differ between groups. Difficulties were most pronounced among older children. No significant pre- to postoperative changes were found, although individual variability was evident. The small group of children with CMS did not differ significantly from other children with PFT, while those with postoperative dysarthria showed a decline in both macro- and microstructure (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Children with PFT showed pre- and postoperative difficulties at macro- and microstructural levels, producing narratives with fewer story elements, shorter utterances, and more grammatical errors compared with TD peers. The age-related differences suggest that narrative difficulties become more prominent as language and cognitive demands increase. The findings underline the clinical importance of including narrative tasks encompassing macro- and microstructural aspects, together with motor-speech evaluation, in assessment and follow-up of children treated for PFT to guide appropriate interventions.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1506915
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1506915
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/1460-6984.70248
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 17
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Brain
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cancer
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Speech Impairments
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication Problems
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Morphology (Languages)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Syntax
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive Ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Surgery
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scores
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grammar
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Error Patterns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Narration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oral Language
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sweden
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Narrative Ability in Swedish Children Treated for Posterior Fossa Tumours: Macro- and Microstructural Performance before and 1-4 Weeks after Surgery
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: K. Persson
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: D. Boeg Thomsen
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: K. Andersson
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: I. Tiberg
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: C. Castor
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: J. Grønbaek
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: R. Mathiasen
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Å. Fyrberg
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 1368-2822
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1460-6984
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 61
            – Type: issue
              Value: 3
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders
              Type: main
ResultId 1