The recent study titled Learning Abilities in a Population of Italian Healthy Preterm Children at the End of Primary School offers valuable insights into the academic and neurocognitive profiles of preterm children. As a practitioner focused on creating positive outcomes for children, understanding and implementing these findings can significantly enhance the support provided to preterm students.
According to the study, healthy preterm children, defined as those without major neurosensory outcomes and with IQs ≥ 85, generally perform within the normal range academically. However, they still show higher proportions of learning impairments compared to their full-term peers. This suggests the necessity for ongoing monitoring and tailored interventions to address specific learning challenges.
Key Findings and Implementation Strategies
The study highlights several key areas where preterm children may face difficulties:
- Reading: Preterm children, especially those born extremely preterm (EP), may struggle with reading speed and accuracy, particularly with non-words.
- Spelling: EP children tend to score lower in dictation tasks involving words.
- Mathematics: Both EP and very preterm (VP) children show challenges in mathematical skills, with EP children scoring significantly lower in written calculations and accuracy.
Given these findings, practitioners can adopt the following strategies to support preterm children:
- Individualized Education Plans (IEPs): Develop tailored IEPs that address specific areas of difficulty, such as reading fluency and mathematical problem-solving.
- Early Intervention: Implement early intervention programs focusing on enhancing neurocognitive skills, such as working memory and attention, which are correlated with academic performance.
- Continuous Monitoring: Regularly assess academic progress and adjust interventions as needed to ensure that children are meeting their developmental milestones.
- Parental Involvement: Engage parents in the educational process by providing them with strategies to support learning at home.
Encouraging Further Research
The study also emphasizes the need for further research to better understand the long-term academic trajectories of preterm children. Practitioners are encouraged to participate in or support research initiatives that aim to explore the following:
- Longitudinal Studies: Conduct longitudinal studies to track the academic and neurocognitive development of preterm children over time.
- Intervention Efficacy: Evaluate the effectiveness of various intervention strategies to determine the best practices for supporting preterm children.
- Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Investigate the learning outcomes of preterm children in different linguistic and cultural contexts to identify universal and specific challenges.
By integrating these research findings into practice and supporting further studies, practitioners can play a crucial role in improving the educational outcomes for preterm children.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: Learning Abilities in a Population of Italian Healthy Preterm Children at the End of Primary School.
