Speed of Language Comprehension at 18 Months Old Predicts School-Relevant Outcomes at 54 Months Old in Children Born Preterm.
Virginia A Marchman, Elizabeth C Loi, Katherine A Adams and 3 others
PMID 29309294WHAT IT FOUND
In children born preterm, faster eye-tracking word comprehension at 18 months predicted better general language and non-verbal IQ at 4½ years, beyond family background, gestational age, and medical complications.
Key findings
01For receptive vocabulary, reaction time added nearly 15% of the explained difference beyond family background, gestational age, and medical risk.
02For general language, faster reaction time was associated with higher scores, and reaction time added nearly 12% beyond all other predictors.
03For non-verbal IQ, faster reaction time was associated with higher scores, and reaction time added about 10% and was the only significant unique predictor.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, with 47 children tested at 18 months, and mostly from affluent, highly educated families, so results may not apply to more diverse children born preterm. Twenty-five additional children tested at 18 months did not return at 4½ years because funding ended, and some outcome analyses used 46 or 45 children. Outcomes were assessed only at 4½ years, not at school age. Non-verbal IQ was based on one test, and medical risk was a simple sum of conditions, so other cognitive domains and specific complications were not examined. The eye-tracking analysis excluded trials with words parents said the child did not understand, and reaction time was based on valid gaze shifts, so not all children contributed equally.
Declared interests
The authors reported no relevant financial relationships. The article is tagged as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that slow language comprehension causes later language or IQ problems, or that training speed will improve outcomes. This was an observational study of 47 children, so it showed prediction over time, not treatment effects.