Can learning disabilities in children who were extremely low birth weight be identified at school entry?
This prospective study was designed to test the hypothesis that a significant proportion of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) children identified as "at risk" for school problems at age 5 years by the Florida Kindergarten Screening Battery (FKSB) will present with specific learning disability (LD) when retested at age 8 years. A regional cohort of 81 of 84 ELBW survivors born between 1980 and 1982 were reassessed at age 8 years by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R), and tests of motor function. The association of FKSB risk status and WRAT-R reading subtest for predicting general reading disability in the overall sample at age 8 years resulted in a sensitivity of 0.68, specificity of 0.48, and a likelihood ratio of 1.3. Of the 43 "normal" children at age 5 years with no neurosensory impairments and IQ > or = 84 (McCarthy GCI), 49% were considered to be at "mild" to "high" risk for future LD. The prevalence of specific LD (reading disorder) at age 8 years in children with normal IQ (WISC-R > or = 85) was 28%. The positive predictive value of the 5-year FKSB for identifying children with specific LD at age 8 years was 0.20 (sensitivity 0.33, specificity 0.48). We conclude the FKSB is not an efficient tool for predicting either general or specific LD in ELBW children.
Saigal
S
S
Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Szatmari
P
P
Rosenbaum
P
P
D000124:Achievement; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment