Article

This cross-sectional study focused on the effect of very preterm (VPT) birth
on language development by analysing phonological, lexical, grammatical, and
pragmatic skills and assessing the role of cognitive and memory skills. METHOD:
Sixty children (29 males, 31 females) born VPT (<32wks) aged 5 years were
compared with 60 children with typical development. The linguistic assessment was
performed by administering a battery of Italian tests for the evaluation of
language; cognitive and memory skills were assessed by Raven's coloured
progressive matrices and digit span subtest (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children [WISC-III]). RESULTS: Children born VPT showed delays in lexical
(comprehension: z-score difference -1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.60 to
-0.77; naming: -0.88; 95% CI -1.19 to -0.58) and pragmatic skills (comprehension:
-0.76; 95% CI -1.02 to -0.49; narrative production: -0.47; 95% CI -0.72 to
-0.23). Delays in phonology and grammar were less diffuse, involving productive
skills (-1.09; 95% CI -1.64 to -0.54; -0.48; 95% CI -0.85 to -0.12,
respectively), and were dependent by cognitive and memory skills. Lexical delays
were more specific. INTERPRETATION: The linguistic profile of children born
preterm is characterized by some abilities more impaired than others. This
highlights the need of a linguistic assessment at the end of preschool age in order to plan a focused intervention aimed at improving lexical and pragmatic
skills.
CI - (c) 2016 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS