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Early school-based learning difficulties in children born very preterm

Verena E Pritchard1, Caron A C Clark, Kathleen Liberty

  • 1Canterbury Child Development Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. verena.pritchard@canterbury.ac.nz

Early Human Development
|November 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children born very preterm (VPT) show significant educational delays by age 6, particularly in math. Early identification and support are crucial for their school transition and academic success.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Educational Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Educational underachievement is a significant issue for very preterm (VPT) born children.
  • Previous studies often used general measures, limiting understanding of specific early school challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate early school achievement in a cohort of VPT children up to age 6.
  • To compare academic performance and identify learning disabilities in VPT versus full-term (FT) children.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective follow-up of 102 VPT (<=33 weeks GA) and 108 FT children.
  • Comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluation at 6 years corrected age, including WJ-III, teacher reports, and national tests.
  • Examination of specific learning disability (LD) rates.

Main Results:

  • VPT children underperformed FT peers across most academic areas and standardized tests (p<.05).
  • Even VPT children without severe impairment showed significant delays in math, written language, and comprehension.
  • VPT children were 2-3 times more likely to experience delays in math, written language, and handwriting, with higher rates of math LD.

Conclusions:

  • A significant number of VPT children face academic challenges by age 6, especially in mathematics.
  • These findings underscore the necessity for early educational interventions and support systems for VPT children entering school.
  • Targeted support can help mitigate learning difficulties and improve educational outcomes for VPT individuals.
Abstract

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