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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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Development of preschool and academic skills in children born very preterm

Cornelieke Sandrine Hanan Aarnoudse-Moens1, Jaap Oosterlaan, Hugo Joseph Duivenvoorden

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|August 17, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Very preterm children show strong early language and literacy skills but struggle with numerical reasoning and math. These academic deficits persist into primary school, impacting their educational progress.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Pediatric neuroscience
  • Educational psychology

Background:

  • Preterm birth (gestational age ≤ 30 weeks) poses risks for neurodevelopmental outcomes.
  • Understanding long-term academic performance in very preterm children is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare preschool and academic skill performance between very preterm and term-born children.
  • To assess the persistence of these differences across childhood.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal comparison of 200 very preterm children with 230 term-born children (aged 4-12 years).
  • Utilized the Dutch National Pupil Monitoring System for assessments.
  • Employed univariate analyses of variance to evaluate performance and grade retention.

Main Results:

  • Very preterm children showed comparable early linguistics but poorer preschool numerical reasoning (-0.7 SD).
  • In primary school, they scored lower in complex word reading (-0.3 SD) and mathematics/arithmetic (-0.6 SD).
  • Performance in reading comprehension and spelling was comparable; however, grade retention was higher (25.5%) without academic improvement.

Conclusions:

  • Very preterm children excel in early linguistics, reading comprehension, and spelling.
  • Clinically significant and persistent deficits are observed in numerical reasoning and mathematics/arithmetic.
  • Early identification and support for mathematical skills are essential for very preterm individuals.
Abstract

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