Developmental aspects of language articulation in preterm and small fullterm infants]

The data to be discussed in this paper are drawn from a study of three groups of infants: small (low birth weight less than 10 centile for gestational age), preterm (gestational age less than 37 weeks) and full term. The total population of this study consisted of 12 children (4 subjects for each group). The purpose of the study was to examine phonetic and lexical development in these three populations to determine both normal and delayed patterns of this development over the second year of life. The time sampled for early behaviors were 18, 19, 20, and 21 months, based on chronological age. The spontaneous verbal productions of the subjects were tape-recorded and transcribed using phonetic symbols (IPA). Comparison were made between preterm and full term infants based on both chronological and gestational age. The data resulting from the comparison of our subjects on these parameters provide us with evidence that there can be early indicators of later speech and lexical development of the group of preterm infants.