SelfhelpMagazine

by Jeremie R. Barlow, M.S. & Lawrence Lewandowski, Ph.D.

Many pre-term and low birth weight infants who do not suffer from a physical debilitating condition are still at risk for subtle developmental delays that are more social, behavioral and cognitive in nature that are often undetected until a child reaches school age, say researchers.

A Premature Baby and Future Problems

According to a new study on consequences of early births, 61 percent of pre-term children experienced either low achievement or special needs in school compared with 23 percent of full-term children who had these problems.

Researchers Jeremie R. Barlow, M.S., and Lawrence Lewandowski, Ph.D., of Syracuse University, in collaboration with researchers at Crouse-Irving Memorial Hospital, evaluated pre-term infants over ten years to determine what risks these infants faced compared to full-term infants. One hundred and eighteen pre-term infants (24-31 weeks) and 119 full-term infants (38-42 weeks) born in an upstate New York Hospital were compared on school-related cognitive functioning measures that included learning disabilities classification, academic achievement, placement and grade retention. The children were also compared on a number of social, behavioral and clinical measures that involved parent, teacher and psychologists' ratings. These measurements were collected on these children at birth, 15 months, 2, 4, 7 and 10 years of age.

The Results

Pre-term children scored lower on intelligence and achievement tests then full-term children, said the authors. Additionally, pre-term children received lower ratings from their parents and teachers on measures of social and behavioral functioning.

Pre-term children also required more educational support, were held back from moving to the next grade and diagnosed with learning disabilities by their schools more frequently than full-term children. Furthermore, the pre-term children were much more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD (4-6 times higher than national estimates of 3-5% of general population), according to the authors.

"The prevalence of school problems with pre-term children is staggering," say the authors, "and warrants greater attention from school professionals. But our research also suggests that interventions should be implemented for all pre-terms as early as possible to halt or prevent future problems and closely monitor their social, behavioral and academic progress."