Although recent advances in neonatal intensive care have led to dramatic increases in the survival of children with extremely low birth weight or extremely preterm birth (ELBW/EPTB, <1000 g or <28 weeks gestational age), this subset of the children is at the highest risk for risk for learning and behavioral problems. These disorders are of particular concern at school entry, as they forecast long-term educational failure. The primary aims of this study are to: (1) investigate the manifestations and development of learning and behavioral problems during the early school-age years, (2) determine their cognitive basis, with specific focus on deficits in executive functions (EF), and (3) examine the home and school environments as predictors of these outcomes and as moderators of the effects of ELBW/EPTB. To accomplish these aims, we will assess an established birth cohort of children with ELBW/EPTB (n = 150) in kindergarten and follow them across the next two years in school. Consequences of ELBW/EPTB will be determined by comparing the cohort with a matched control group of term-born children (n = 150). We hypothesize that the ELBW/EPTB group, relative to controls, will display more academic deficiencies, higher rates of psychiatric disorders, less engagement in learning and more inappropriate classroom behavior, and less positive learning and behavioral progress over time. We further hypothesize that specific deficits in EF will predict early learning failure, and that environments associated with better learning and behavioral outcomes will buffer the effects of ELBW/EPTB. Innovative features include classroom observations of student and teacher behavior, use of measures of EF designed for younger children, and comprehensive assessments of the home and school environments. The project employs an integrative approach encompassing health and developmental, neuroscience, and educational perspectives. The findings will inform efforts to identify and treat learning disorders in high-risk children at school entry.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD050309-05
Application #
7881623
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-D (05))
Program Officer
Freund, Lisa S
Project Start
2006-09-01
Project End
2012-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2012-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$510,869
Indirect Cost
Name
Case Western Reserve University
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
077758407
City
Cleveland
State
OH
Country
United States
Zip Code
44106
Taylor, H Gerry; Klein, Nancy; Espy, Kimberly A et al. (2018) Effects of extreme prematurity and kindergarten neuropsychological skills on early academic progress. Neuropsychology 32:809-821
Tatsuoka, Curtis; McGowan, Bridget; Yamada, Tomoko et al. (2016) Effects of Extreme Prematurity on Numerical Skills and Executive Function in Kindergarten Children: An Application of Partially Ordered Classification Modeling. Learn Individ Differ 49:332-340
Taylor, H Gerry; Clark, Caron A C (2016) Executive function in children born preterm: Risk factors and implications for outcome. Semin Perinatol 40:520-529
Harmon, Heidi M; Taylor, H Gerry; Minich, Nori et al. (2015) Early school outcomes for extremely preterm infants with transient neurological abnormalities. Dev Med Child Neurol 57:865-71
Chevalier, Nicolas; James, Tiffany D; Wiebe, Sandra A et al. (2014) Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance: Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning. Dev Psychol 50:1999-2008
Wong, Taylor; Taylor, H Gerry; Klein, Nancy et al. (2014) Kindergarten classroom functioning of extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight children. Early Hum Dev 90:907-14
Chevalier, Nicolas; Kelsey, Kathleen M; Wiebe, Sandra A et al. (2014) The temporal dynamic of response inhibition in early childhood: an ERP study of partial and successful inhibition. Dev Neuropsychol 39:585-99
Chevalier, Nicolas; Huber, Kristina L; Wiebe, Sandra A et al. (2013) Qualitative change in executive control during childhood and adulthood. Cognition 128:1-12
Scott, Megan N; Taylor, H Gerry; Fristad, Mary A et al. (2012) Behavior disorders in extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight children in kindergarten. J Dev Behav Pediatr 33:202-13
Chevalier, Nicolas; Sheffield, Tiffany D; Nelson, Jennifer Mize et al. (2012) Underpinnings of the costs of flexibility in preschool children: the roles of inhibition and working memory. Dev Neuropsychol 37:99-118

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