| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ONO Tsutomu Saitama Children's Medical Center, Division of Neonatology, Chief, 未熟児新生児科, 科長
NARA Takahiro Saitama Children's Medical Center, Division of Neurology, Chief, 神経科, 科長
HOSHI Miwako Tokyo Kaseigakuin Tsukuba Women's University, Department of Comparative Culture,, 国際学部, 教授 (30231004)
OKUDAIRA Yoko Koengakuen Women Junior College, Department of Preschool Education, Professor, 保育科, 教授 (30149174)
OTOMO Kiyoshi Tokyo Gakugei University, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor, 教育学部, 助教授 (30213789)
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| Research Abstract |
This study longitudinally followed 42 children born prematurely from 5 to 7 years of age employing an inter-disciplinary approach. The mean birthweitht was 1143g, and the mean gestational age, 29 weeks. More than 80 percent of the subjects were either the first or second born. Over 20 percent of the subjects exhibited apparent death, and hyperbilirubinemia, apnea, transient polypnea, retrolental fibroplasia were among major complications. The subjects' gross motor skills were appropriate for age, but the development of the inhibitory system from the prefrontal and supplementary motor areas was delayd. Intellectual assessment revealed that the mean IQ was below average at age 5, but IQs of over 90% of the subjects reached the age appropriate level at age 7. Variabilities in scores across subtests diminished with age, and the subjects with discrepan es between PIQ and VIQ also decreased in number with age. About 70% of the subjects were within normal in language skills at age 5, with about 10% showing apparent language delays. Articulatory skills improved with age, and no subjects showed articulatory deficits at age 7. Personality assessment yielded relatively low scores for activity level and ego autonomy, and 30-50% of the subjects exhibited difficulties in motor coordination, attention, tenacity, and social skills. However, with support from care givers and instructors, their adaptation to a day care or kindergarten improved. With respect to adaptation to school, 16 subjects were judged as normal, 12 as LD suspects, and 6 as intermediate. It was suggested that individual assessment is necessary to provide prematurely born children with services which meet their educational needs.
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