Evaluation of language at 6 years in children born prematurely without cerebral palsy: prospective study of 55 children

Very premature birth carries a high risk of neurocognitive disabilities and learning disorders. Acquiring sufficient speech skills is crucial to good school performance. A prospective study was conducted in 2006 to evaluate speech development in 55 children born very prematurely in 2000 at the Rouen Teaching Hospital (Rouen, France), free of cerebral palsy, compared to 6-year-old born at full term. A computerized speech assessment tool was used (Bilan Informatisé du Langage Oral, BILO II). In the premature-birth group, 49 % of 6-year-old had at least 1 score below the 25th percentile on 1 of the 8 BILO II tests. Significant speech impairments were noted for 2 components of speech, namely, comprehension and phonology. Oral comprehension scores no higher than the 10th percentile were obtained by 23 % of prematurely born children (P