The University of Queensland

1
The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical
Research
Communication Development of Preterm Infants A
Longitudinal Study

• Group comparisons
• Due to the small number of data points it was
  only possible to perform one-sample t-tests at
  three time intervals.
• 20 month t (1,5) -3.76, p0.01
• 24 months t(1,6)-2.04, p0.09
• 28 months t(1,6)2.28, p0.06
• Conclusions caveats
• In this group of children born preterm without
  neurosensory or physical impairment there was a
  group trend of delayed vocabulary development. By
  two years of age (corrected) the majority of
  children had vocabularies similar to the
  normative reference group.
• It is important to note that the families who
  agreed to this study were committed and
  interested in the communication development of
  their children. It is well documented that
  children born preterm that are followed with
  difficulty have substantially worse outcomes 11.
• Clinical Implications
• The results of this study highlight the
  importance of correcting for age when assessing
  children born preterm.
• References
• Doyle, L.W, Rogerson, S., Chuang, S., James, M.
  Bowman, E. Davis, P.G. (1999). Medical Journal
  of Australia, 170 528-532.
• Doyle, L.W. (2001). Outcome at 5 years of age of
  children 23 to 27 weeks gestation Refining the
  prognosis. Pediatrics, 108(1) 134-141
• Rickards, A.L., Kelly, E.A., Doyle, L.W.
  Callanan, C. (2001). Cognition, academic
  progress, behaviour and self-concept at 14 years
  of very low birth weight children. Journal of
  Developmental Behavioural Pediatrics, 22(1),
  11-18.
• Censullo, M. (1994). Developmental delay in
  healthy premature infants at age two years
  implications for early intervention. Journal of
  Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 15(2),
  99-104.
• Jennische, M Sedin, G. (1999). Speech and
  language skills in children who required neonatal
  intensive care Evaluation at 6.5 years of age
  based on interviews with parents. Acta
  Paediatrica, 88(9), 975-982.
• Schwarz, I.-C., Burnham, D., Bowey, J. A.
  (2003). Australian English adaptation of an
  expressive vocabulary inventory. Paper presented
  at the 14th Australian Language and Speech
  Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane,
  Australia.
• Schwarz, I.-C., Burnham, D. (2006). Measuring
  vocabulary development in Australian toddlers
  with the Australian English Vocabulary Inventory
  OZI. Paper presented at the Karitane Steps
  Conference, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia.
  The OZI project is expected to be completed
  next year. The questionnaire, the norms and the
  manual will be published thereafter.
• Pritchard, M. Colditz, P. (2001).Optimising
  health outcomes for children at high risk of
  neurodevelopmental disability in Queensland.
  Perinatal Research Centre, Brisbane.

• Background
• Improved perinatal care has led to decerased
  mortality in preterm infants, although a
  significant proportion are at risk for
  disability1,2. In follow-up studies at school
  age, preterm children, born without physical or
  major sensorineural impairment, have been shown
  to have a lower intelligence quotient than full
  term controls. This affects academic, social and
  behavioural development 3.
• Reported communication deficits in preterm
  infants include an absence of babbling and
  delayed communication milestones 4,5.
• Outline of Study
• This prospective longitudinal study described the
  vocabulary development of six children born at
  lt32 weeks gestation. Parents completed the OZI,
  an Australian adaption of the MacArthur
  Communicative Development Inventory6,7 on their
  children every four months from 18 to 36 months
  (corrected age).
• At two and three years of age (corrected) each
  child was seen by an experienced paediatric
  speech pathologist for speech and language
  assessment.
• Research Question
• Do children born preterm present with delayed
  vocabulary development?
• Participants
• Six children and their families were recruited
  from a cohort of children completing the Preterm
  Clinical Pathway8 in Queensland.
• Assessment
• OZI
• Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and
  Phonology (DEAP) 9
• Preschool Language Scales 4 10
• Results
• Individual
• Each childs vocabulary development, as reported
  by a parent, and test results at two and three
  years of age is described.
• All of the children showed a similar pattern of
  development. At the younger age intervals the
  size of the preterm childrens vocabulary was
  smaller than the reference group. By 28 months
  (corrected age) all children had caught up.

Case 1 Olive Birth information Gestational age
28.5 weeks Birth weight 1002 grams Assessment
results at 20 years MLU 6.74 PLS-4 Auditory
comprehension 111 SS Expressive
communication 114 SS Assessment results at 30
years MLU 12.6 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 114
SS Expressive communication 118 SS DEAP PPC
95 (13 SS) Vocabulary development
Case 3 Bree Birth information Gestational age
23 weeks Birth weight 450 grams Assessment
results at 20 years MLU 6.0 PLS-4 Auditory
comprehension 117 SS Expressive
communication 77 SS Assessment results at 30
years MLU 7.21 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 135
SS DEAP PPC 94 (12SS) Vocabulary development
Case 2 Jamie Birth information Gestational age
26.6 weeks Birth weight 1016 grams Length of
hospital stay 81 days Assessment results at 20
years MLU 3.03 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 111
SS Assessment results at 30 years MLU
7.88 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 123 SS
Expressive communication 121 SS DEAP PPC 84 (9
SS) Vocabulary development
Case 4 William Gestational age 28.7 weeks Birth
weight 844grams Length of hospital stay 101
days Assessment results at 20 years MLU
4.45 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 120 SS
Expressive communication 106 SS Assessment
results at 30 years MLU 5.58 PLS-4 Auditory
comprehension 127 SS Expressive
communication 123 SS DEAP PPC 89 (11
SS) Vocabulary development
Case 5 Sophia Gestational age 28.7 weeks Birth
weight 1126 grams Length of hospital stay 70
days Assessment results at 20 years MLU
5.48 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 109 SS
Expressive communication 89 SS Assessment
results at 30 years MLU 5.93 PLS-4 Auditory
comprehension 119 SS DEAP PPC 89 (11
SS) Vocabulary development
Case 6 Brianna Gestational age 26 weeks Birth
weight 942 grams Length of hospital stay 86
days Assessment results at 20 years MLU
6.0 PLS-4 Auditory comprehension 109
SS Assessment results at 30 years PLS-4 Auditory
comprehension 106 SS Expressive
communication 114 SS DEAP PPC 78 (8 SS)
Vocabulary development
Sharon Crosbie Alison Holm
Contact Sharon Crosbie e-mail
s.crosbie_at_uq.edu.au http//www.som.uq.edu.au/rese
arch/prc/default.asp