Cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children and adolescents with chronic pain

The current study examined the profiles of cognitive functioning and academic achievement in school-aged children and adolescents with chronic pain. The standardized psychoeducational testing results of 57 patients (ages 8 to 18) seen at a major pediatric pain clinic between 1998 and 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Pediatric pain patients scored higher in measures of general intelligence, verbal ability, nonverbal reasoning and processing speed than the general population. Verbal ability was a relative strength for many, while some exhibited relative weaknesses in working memory and processing speed. Their mean academic achievement was in the Average range on all of the scholastic domains covered. A subset of patients scored higher in reading and writing, but lower in arithmetic, than the general population. The level of academic achievement for most participants was consistent with their intellectual ability. The current research highlights the utility of incorporating psychoeducational assessments in treatments for pediatric chronic pain.