Cognitive and language development of healthy preterm infants at 10 years of age
Joyce Magill-Evans1, Margaret J Harrison, Jeanne Van der Zalm
1Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, 2-64 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G4. joyce.magill-evans@ualberta.ca
Abstract:
In this longitudinal study, forty-three Canadian 10-year-olds, 20 born preterm without significant health problems and 23 born at term, were compared. Cognitive development was measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. Language development was measured by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3 (CELF-3) and language used in a 5 minute interview. The children born preterm had subtle delays. They scored significantly lower on Performance IQ and the CELF-3. The subtests on which they had lower scores appear to require visual-spatial skills. Early intervention focusing on parent behaviours that encourage language development and early screening for delays in visual-spatial skills may be useful.
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