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Social-Communicative Abilities in Young High-Risk Preterm Children

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The social-communicative abilities of a high-risk preterm (n=25) and a full-term group (n=19) were assessed at the age of two, using a standardized observation schedule (ADOS-G; Lord et al., 1999). The preterm children could be described as “high risk” in terms of their low gestational age and/or severe neonatal problems. They had significantly higher scores than their full-term peers, indicating less optimally developed social, communicative, and initiating joint attention abilities. Additionally, preterm children who had infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) at birth had significantly less optimally developed communicative abilities than preterm children without IRDS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Isabel De Groote, Herbert Roeyers & Petra Warreyn

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology, Research Group Developmental Disorders, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, B -- 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Isabel De Groote

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  1. Isabel De Groote
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  2. Herbert Roeyers
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Correspondence to Isabel De Groote.

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De Groote, I., Roeyers, H. & Warreyn, P. Social-Communicative Abilities in Young High-Risk Preterm Children. J Dev Phys Disabil 18, 183–200 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-006-9011-y

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