Visuospatial Perception in Prematurely Born Children Without Cerebral Palsy or Retinopathy but With Scholar...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Preterm children are at higher risk for academic difficulties.
• The specific clinical characteristics underlying these difficulties are not well-defined.
• Visuospatial perception is crucial for academic success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate visuospatial perception deficits in preterm children presenting with academic complaints.
• To explore the association between specific neuro-developmental disorders and visuospatial perception.
• To identify factors predicting visuospatial perception impairments.

Main Methods:

• Screening of visuospatial perception in 70 preterm children with academic complaints.
• Assessment for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and other neuro-developmental disorders.
• Statistical analysis, including regression, to identify predictive factors.

Main Results:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder was present in 27% of children, associated with impaired spatial relationship perception.
• 31% of preterm children without a neuro-developmental disorder diagnosis showed impaired object magnitude perception.
• Low gestational age and fetal growth restriction predicted impaired object magnitude perception, but not spatial relationship perception.

Conclusions:

• Visuospatial perception deficits are prevalent in preterm children with academic difficulties.
• Impaired perception of spatial relationships is linked to DCD, while object magnitude perception issues are seen in children without DCD.
• Gestational age and fetal growth restriction are key predictors of specific visuospatial perception impairments.