A study shows that babies who were born prematurely are much more likely to have problems with learning when they reach kindergarten than are kids who were born full term. This means that “preemies” need to be checked for learning difficulties when they are in pre-school, so that early intervention treatments can be implemented.
The study was done by researchers at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, and was lead by Dr. H. Gerry Taylor. Overall, they found that kindergarteners who were born “extremely prematurely”, were much more likely to have learning problems then were their peers, (who were born full-term).
The researchers focused on 148 children who were “extremely preterm”. For the purposes of this study, the researchers are defining that as children who were born before 28 weeks of pregnancy, or children who were born weighing less than 1,000 grams. Thanks to advancements in medical technology, these babies are much more likely to survive than they would have in the past.
All of the children in the study were born at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, between 2001 and 2003. The researchers also studied a comparison group of 111 classmates of the preemies. The classmates were born at term, and had normal birth weights.
When these children reached kindergarten they were given tests on spelling and math. Over half of the preemies had lower than average scores on these tests. A little over half of the preemies “weren’t testable”, or didn’t reach the basic levels in math. Only 21% of the control group of children had the same result.
Kindergarten teachers were four times more likely to identify the preterm kids as having “substandard learning processes” in written language skills. The teachers were seven times more likely to give this group substandard learning progress reports in math.
Researchers noted that babies who were extremely preterm often experienced delayed development at 20 months of age. This places them at risk for experiencing learning problems in kindergarten. Right now, preemies are monitored by doctors and specialists until they reach age two or age three. This leaves a gap where kids are not being observed for potential learning difficulties of a few years, until the child is old enough for kindergarten.
The study shows that preemies need additional intervention to help with those learning difficulties while the child is a preschooler. This could help them to have a more successful time in kindergarten, and therefore, through their school career. The sooner a parent can get an official diagnosis, and an IEP started, the better.
Image by Bradley Gordon on Flickr