title: Impact of prematurity on language skills at school age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The existing literature on language outcomes in children born prematurely focuses almost exclusively on standardized test scores rather than discourse-level abilities. The authors of this study looked longitudinally at school-age language outcomes and potential moderating variables for a group of twins born prematurely versus a control group of twins born at full term, analyzing both standardized test results and language sample data from the population-based Western Reserve Reading Project (WRRP; Petrill, Deater-Deckard, Thompson, DeThorne, & Schatschneider, 2006).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven children born prematurely, at ≤32 weeks or <1,500 g, were compared with 57 children born at full term and were matched for age, gender, race, and parental education. Data included discourse-level language samples and standardized test results, collected at average ages 7, 8, and 10 years. The language samples were analyzed to yield a number of semantic and syntactic measures that were consolidated via factor analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression models showed significant differences between the 2 groups for standardized test results, although the mean score for both groups fell in the normal range. For the discourse-level language measures, however, differences never reached statistical significance. Parental education was significantly associated with improved standardized test scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that in the absence of frank neurological impairment, sophisticated semantic and syntactic skills may be relatively intact in the discourse-level language of children born prematurely. Implications for assessment, particularly the potential role of attention and executive function in standardized testing tasks, are reviewed.
authors.forename: Jamie Mahurin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Laura Segebart
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: DeThorne
authors.forename: Jessica A R
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.forename: Ron W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Channell
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Petrill
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002663:Child Language; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012660:Semantics; D014705:Verbal Behavior