The early utterances of preterm infants

Abstract

This study examined the utterances of infants born preterm in order to ascertain whether there were any differences in speech‐sound production between healthy preterm infants and those who had suffered perinatal insult. Thirty‐three infants whose corrected ages ranged from nine months to 22 months were assessed. Of these, 21 had suffered intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH); the remaining 12 acted as controls. The assessment measure was derived from the literature on early vocalisations through to two‐word combinations. These assessments were administered by a speech therapist and a medical student. Results showed a high correlation with the results of a standardised test of expressive communication administered by a psychologist. Both groups of subjects showed delay in speech‐sound acquisition but the IVH infants showed a more severe delay and wider range of performance than did the control group. These findings and their implications are discussed together with others relating to the most propitious situation for utterances and the appropriateness of the procedures.

Maternal speech to preterm infants during the first 2 years of life: stability and change

“…Findings documented that, at least during the first year of life, maternal speech directed to preterm infants was similar to that addressed to full‐term infants, with respect to its structural features (Reissland et al 1999, Salerni et al 2007). On the contrary, studies that focused on temporal and functional aspects of verbal input highlighted that mothers of preterm children produced more directive and controlling utterances than mothers of term children (Brown et al 1986, Menyuk et al 1995).…”

A female advantage in cognitive recovery from early cerebral insult.

“…These include severe motor handicaps (Amato, Howald, & von Muralt, 1986), although a more subtle decrement in motor performance may also occur (Landry, Fletcher, Denson, & Chapieski, 1993; Lewis & Bendersky, 1989). General decline in cognitive abilities (Landry et al, 1993; Lewis & Bendersky, 1989; Sostek, 1992) and specific impairment in language and communication skills have also been noted (Bendersky & Lewis, 1990; Brown, Bendersky, & Chapman, 1986; Janowsky & Nass, 1987). There is ample evidence that the severity of the deficits is directly related to the gravity of the hemorrhage (Amato et al, 1986; Landry et al, 1993; Miller-Sostek, Smith, Katz, & Grant, 1987; Raz, Lauterbach et al, 1995; Sostek, 1992), which, in turn, is linked to the probability and extent of permanent parenchymal damage.…”

Language Exposure of Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Unit: A Systematic Review

“…These include intrinsic factors such as perinatal insults [6][7][8]; gestational age at birth [9][10][11] and altered neurological pathways [3,5]; low birthweight [12][13][14][15][16][17]; disease processes and severity [18][19][20]; genetic and epigenetic factors including sociocultural influences [17,21], language exposure [22][23][24] and developmental interaction [25][26][27][28]; and nosocomially derived factors such as adverse environmental exposures [29,30], sepsis and neurotoxicity from drugs [31,32]. Long-term studies on language outcomes in preterm infants reveal delays in various aspects of receptive and expressive language [13,14], articulation, comprehension [25], oromotor skills and spontaneous speech [33].…”