Using the clinical linguistic and auditory milestone scale for developmental screening in high-risk preterm infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatology
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Preterm infants often experience developmental delays, necessitating reliable monitoring tools.
• Assessing language development in preterm infants requires age-appropriate and accurate methods.
• The impact of prematurity on cognitive and language outcomes is a significant concern in pediatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale (CLAMS) for monitoring language development in preterm infants.
• To determine if correcting for prematurity improves the accuracy of CLAMS Language Quotients (LQ) in predicting cognitive outcomes.
• To assess the sequential nature and predictability of language development in preterm infants from 3 months to 2 years corrected age.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-one preterm infants (mean gestational age 29 weeks) were assessed using CLAMS at three intervals: 3-5 months, 9-14 months, and 18-24 months chronologic age (CA).
• CLAMS Language Quotients (LQ) were compared with psychometric test scores, with and without adjustments for prematurity.
• Correlations between CLAMS LQs across intervals and between CLAMS LQs and psychometric scores were analyzed.

Main Results:

• CLAMS LQ demonstrated high correlations between sequential intervals (Interval 1 to 2: r=0.57; Interval 2 to 3: r=0.64, P<0.0001), indicating orderly language development.
• CLAMS evaluations showed significant correlations with psychometric test results during Interval 2 (r=0.34, P<0.02) and Interval 3 (r=0.75, P<0.0001).
• Adjusting for prematurity did not significantly alter the predictive accuracy of CLAMS LQ for cognitive outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The CLAMS is a valuable and reliable instrument for monitoring the sequential language development of preterm infants in primary pediatric care.
• Early CLAMS assessments can provide meaningful insights into later language and cognitive development in this population.
• The CLAMS facilitates early identification of potential developmental issues, enabling timely intervention for preterm infants.