Article

Object exploration behaviors form the foundation for future global
development, but little is known about how these behaviors are exhibited by
infants born preterm. The study objective was to longitudinally
compare a comprehensive set of object exploration behaviors in infants born
preterm and infants born full-term from infancy into toddlerhood. DESIGN:
Twenty-two infants born full-term and 28 infants born preterm were monitored as
they interacted with objects throughout their first 2 years. METHODS: Infants
were provided up to 30 seconds to interact with each of 7 objects across 9
visits. Experimenters coded videos of infants' behaviors. Growth modeling and t
tests were used to compare how much infants exhibited behaviors and how well they
matched their behaviors to the properties of objects. RESULTS: Infants born
preterm explored objects less in the first 6 months, exhibited less visual-haptic
multimodal exploration, displayed reduced variability of exploratory behavior in
a manner that reflected severity of risk, and were less able to match their
behaviors to the properties of objects in a manner that reflected severity of
risk. Infants born preterm with significant brain injury also had impaired
bimanual abilities. LIMITATIONS: There was a limited sample of infants born
preterm with significant brain injury. CONCLUSIONS: Infants born preterm have
impaired abilities to interact with objects even in the first months of life.
This impairment likely limits the knowledge they acquire about objects and about
how they can act on them; this limited knowledge may, in turn, impair their early
learning abilities. These results highlight the need for assessment and
intervention tools specific for object exploration in young infants.
CI - (c) 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

Langue : ANGLAIS