Case report of prenatal bilateral cerebellar infarction: implications for social-behavioral functioning

AbstractObjective: Complete prenatal cerebellar infarction is rare and few reports exist documenting developmental outcomes. We report outcome data on a child who sustained a stroke to the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres at 25 weeks gestation, and was subsequently seen for follow-up neuropsychological evaluations at ages 5 years, 5 months and 7 years, 9 months. Method: Retrospective chart review. Results: Findings from the initial evaluation at age 5 were consistent with a diagnosis of intellectual disability based on developmental testing and parent-reported adaptive behavior. Deficits in social communication, relatedness, and reciprocity were identified, though diagnosis of an autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) was deferred given the difficulty of interpreting these findings in the context of his physical and cognitive disabilities. Re-assessment at age 7 included comprehensive autism assessment, and a diagnosis of ASD was confirmed. Neuropsychological testing revealed minimal developmental skill progressi...