Language Abilities of Neurologically Normal and Suspect Preterm Children Now in Preschool

Multiple aspects of speech and language performance of 29 four- to five-year-old preterm children (10 neurologically suspect) were assessed. Data were collected using a variety of measures including standardized tests and analysis of language samples. Each child's performance was compared with reference data on the various outcomes which yielded an over-all pass score and individual profiles of performance. Neurologically normal children had significantly higher passing scores than suspect children but appeared to be at risk for mild language delays, particularly in morphosyntactic development. Neurologically suspect children appeared to be at risk for moderate and more generalized language delays, including morphosyntactic and phonological development.