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[Intellectual and neurological development of 9-15-year-olds who were born as at-risk neonates]
1Abteilung für Neonatologie, Medizinische Universitäts-Kinderklinik, Inselspital, Bern.
Insights
Most children with perinatal risk factors showed normal psychomotor development initially. Later, many required support or faced school challenges, though most attended public school.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Children born between 1974-1980, hospitalized as newborns, were identified as at-risk for abnormal psychomotor development due to perinatal factors.
- Initial psychomotor development assessments were conducted in infancy and early childhood at the Cerebral Palsy Centre in Berne.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term neuro-intellectual and psychosocial development of children with perinatal risk factors.
- To determine if early childhood assessments of psychomotor development correlated with later developmental outcomes.
- To analyze the educational and support needs of this at-risk population in later childhood and adolescence.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 296 children born 1974-1980 with perinatal risk factors.
- Initial psychomotor evaluations at the Cerebral Palsy Centre (CP-Centre) in Berne during infancy and early childhood.
- Follow-up neuro-intellectual development assessment via a family questionnaire at ages 9-15 years (62% return rate).
Main Results:
- At initial assessment (median age 10 months), 83.5% had normal psychomotor development, 8.4% questionable, and 8.1% abnormal.
- By ages 9-15 years, 39.3% experienced no further problems, while 57.4% utilized special support (speech therapy, educational consulting) or encountered school difficulties.
- 3.3% exhibited distinct learning disabilities; over 90% attended normal public schools, comparable to the general population, but fewer were in higher education tracks.
Conclusions:
- While the majority of at-risk children initially showed normal psychomotor development, a significant proportion required ongoing support and faced academic challenges later in life.
- Early childhood CP-Centre assessments showed limited predictive accuracy for later psychosocial and scholastic outcomes.
- The findings highlight the need for continued monitoring and support for children with perinatal risk factors throughout their educational trajectories.
Abstract:
This retrospective study deals with 296 children born between 1, Jan. 1974 and 31, Dec. 1980, who had been hospitalized as newborns at the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Berne and who had been considered at risk for abnormal psychomotor development because of well defined perinatal risk factors. Their psychomotor development had first been evaluated in the first months and years of life at the Cerebral Palsy Centre at Berne. In 1989, when the children were 9-15 years old, their neuro-intellectual development was investigated through a questionnaire sent to the families dealing with the subsequent psychosocial and scholastic course. In the CP-Centre, at a median age of 10 and mean age of 26.4 months, 247 (83.5%) of the children had been discharged with the finding of normal psychomotor development, 25 (8.4%) had been considered to show questionable findings and 24 (8.1%) to show obvious abnormal psychomotor development. On the basis of the answers to the questionnaire (median age 11 8/12, mean age 11 10/12 years; 62% return rate), 39.3% of the children had had no further problem, and 57.4% had used special support such as speech therapy or educational consulting and/or had had school problems. 3.3% showed distinct learning disabilities. More than 90% were attending a normal public school. This corresponds to the attendance in the general population. However, fewer children were in higher schools. To investigate whether the judgement in the first months and years (CP-Centre) of life corresponded to the further development (questionnaire), a subpopulation was specially evaluated in addition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)