Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
Published on: January 29, 2014
Assessment of receptive and expressive auditory and visual functions in pre-term children
Dionísia Aparecida Cusin Lamônica1, Fabiana Cristina Carlino, Kátia de Freitas Alvarenga
1Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. dionelam@uol.com.br
Insights
Premature birth is linked to developmental delays. Premature infants showed poorer auditory and visual abilities compared to full-term infants, with very low birth weight babies most affected.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Prematurity is a known risk factor for delayed language development.
- Early identification of developmental challenges in premature infants is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the receptive and expressive auditory and visual abilities of premature children.
- To compare the performance of premature infants with full-term infants.
Main Methods:
- Study involved 40 children aged 12-24 months, divided into a prematurity group (G1) and a control group (G2).
- Prematurity group included 20 infants born between 22-34 weeks gestation with low/very low birth weight (<2500g).
- The Early Language Milestone Scale (ELM) and parental interviews were used for assessment.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant differences were observed between the groups.
- Premature children (G1) exhibited poorer performance in expressive hearing, receptive hearing, and visual abilities.
- Expressive auditory ability was the most impacted area among premature infants.
Conclusions:
- Premature infants demonstrated deficits in both expressive and receptive auditory and visual functions.
- Infants born with very low birth weight showed more pronounced deficits in the assessed abilities.
- These findings highlight the long-term impact of prematurity on early childhood development.
Background:
prematurity as a risk factor for delay in language development.
Aim:
to verify the performance of premature children regarding their receptive and expressive auditory and visual abilities.
Method:
participants were 40 children with chronological ages between 12 and 24 months. The experimental group (G1) was composed by 20 children who presented report of prematurity and low or very low weight. The birth age varied from 22 to 34 weeks and weight was below 2500 gr. This group was divided according to weight, i.e. children with low and very low weight. The control group (G2) was composed by 20 children born at term, with weight above 2500 gr and with no report of development delay. The procedures consisted of an interview with the parents and the application of the Early Language Milestone Scale--ELM.
Results:
when comparing the groups, the results indicate statistically significant differences. Children of G1 presented a poorer performance in the Expressive Hearing (EH), Receptive Hearing (RH) and Visual (V) areas, although a few children of this group presented the expected results for their age group in some of the tested abilities. The expressive auditory ability was the most affected.
Conclusion:
children of G1 presented deficits in the expressive and receptive auditory and visual functions. Premature children with very low weight presented higher deficits in the tested abilities.
