Susan R. Wildin

Children of Battered Women: Developmental and Learning Profiles

Children in battered womens shelters have been shown to have more behavior problems than their peers but limited information is available about their development. A pilot survey was undertaken to determine the prevalence of developmental or academic problems in children of residents of a battered womens shelter. Demographic data, medical and school histories and responses to standardized developmental or behavioral surveys were obtained from 39 mothers of 76 children. Two-thirds of the children were victims of abuse. On the Minnesota Child Development Inventory, the mean General Developmental Quotient (DQ) of 28 preschool children was 98; however, 39% had developmental delays by test criteria. Of 46 school-aged children, 21 (46%) had evidence of academic problems, including grade repetition, failing grades and need for special educational services. On the Louisville Behavior Checklist, 75% of 48 children had behavior problems. Children in a battered womens shelter are likely to experience academic and behavioral problems; however, further study is needed to elucidate etiological factors.

Prediction of developmental patterns through 40 months from 6- and 12-month neurologic examinations in very low birth weight infants.

This study examines whether neurologic examinations at 6 and 12 months of age can predict developmental patterns in very low birth weight infants and fullterm controls through 40 months of age. We performed neurologic examinations at 6 and 12 months; the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 6, 12, and 24 months; and the Stanford-Binet and the McCarthy Motor scale at 40 months. The very low birth weight infants were categorized on the basis of socioeconomic status and high or low risk for early medical complications. More abnormal neurologic scores predicted greater deceleration of cognitive development for high-risk infants only. The 12-month neurologic examination predicted the degree of deceleration in motor development. Medical risk was an independent predictor of curvature of the psychomotor development curve. We conclude that neurologic examinations during the 1st year of life might be used with other factors in decisions concerning referrals to early-intervention programs. J Dev Behav Pediatr 18:215–221, 1997.

Severity of medical and neurologic complications as a determinant of neurodevelopmental outcome at 6 and 12 months in very low birth weight infants

Very low birth weight (n = 154) and term infants (n = 119) had neurologic and developmental assessment at 6 and 12 months of age. Preterm infants with severe neonatal complications were considered to be at high risk, and those with milder complications were considered to be at low risk, for neurodevelopmental abnormality. Compared to term infants, high- and low-risk infants had abnormalities at 6 months in total neurologic score, cranial nerves, motor tone, motor coordination, and reflexes (P < .001). At 12 months, all groups had improved. However, high-risk infants had persistent abnormalities in the same subcategories (P < .001), whereas low-risk infants differed from term infants only in motor tone (P < .001). Bayley developmental scores were different for all groups at 6 months (P < .001), but at 12 months only high-risk infants differed from term infants (P < .01). These results demonstrate improvement in neurologic and developmental scores over time in very low birth weight infants. The degree of neurodevelopmental abnormality and improvement over time is related to severity of neonatal complications in preterm infants. (J Child Neurol 1996;11:215-219).

Developmental change in the neuropsychological functioning of very low birth weight infants

Abstract Research on very low birth weight (VLBW) infants has not carefully evaluated developmental patterns of neurological and neuropsychological functioning across time. This study reports on a broad range of developmental outcomes for VLBW infants of low (LR, n = 116) and high (HR, n = 84) medical risk compared to full term infants (FT, n = 120) across 6, 12, and 24 months of age. While low risk infants showed initial delays in most areas, faster rates of change in motor and neurological development resulted in catch-up by 2 years of age as compared to the FT infants. The lack of acceleration in development of mental skills demonstrates a persistent lag in this area. In contrast, HR infants showed initial delays in all areas as compared to both LR and FT infants with slower rates of change in mental and expressive language skills. Although faster rates of change were evident for HR infants in motor, neurological, and receptive language skills, scores in these areas remain lower than those for the LR a...

Modeling Analysis of Change in Neurologic Abnormalities in Children Born Prematurely: A Novel Approach

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to evaluate changes in neurologic abnormalities in 212 preterm and 128 full-term children. Preterm infants with severe medical complications were considered at high risk, while those with milder complications were considered at low risk for neurodevelopmental abnormality. The patterns of change in neurologic status for the high- and low-risk preterm and term groups across 6, 12, 24, 40, and 54 months of age were compared using growth modeling analysis. As expected, the term group showed minimal change, while the two preterm groups demonstrated complex, nonlinear patterns of change in neurologic abnormalities. While the results demonstrate improvement over time in both groups of preterm infants, 35% of the children in the high-risk group had neurologic scores in the borderline or abnormal range at 54 months. These findings demonstrate that neurologic deficits are still evident at preschool age in some preterm children and that these deficits are related to the severity of neonatal complications. (J Child Neurol 1999;14:502-508).

NEONATAL COMPLICATIONS: HOW DO THEY RELATE TO DEVELOPMENTAL AND NEUROLOGIC OUTCOME IN VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (VLBW) INFANTS AT 40 MONTHS.† 1608

NEONATAL COMPLICATIONS: HOW DO THEY RELATE TO DEVELOPMENTAL AND NEUROLOGIC OUTCOME IN VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (VLBW) INFANTS AT 40 MONTHS.† 1608