Education and Training

Reading in Preterm and Full-term Children: Neural Basis and Prediction

The purpose of this study is to understand reading abilities of children born preterm: their cognitive profiles, the neural basis of good and poor reading abilities, and the behavioral and neural factors that predict persistent difficulties. The investigators hope to learn

- what specific skills correlate reading skills

- if preterm children have different cognitive profiles than full term children with respect to reading

- if cognitive skills measured in kindergarten predict reading ability in the second grade

- if parts of the brain are associated with reading skill

- whether brain characteristics in kindergarten predict reading in second grade.

Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.

Eligibility


Inclusion Criteria:

   - Pre-terms: PT children born <35 weeks gestation and weighing <2000 grams at birth.

   - Full-term: FT participants will be healthy children born ≥ 36 weeks gestation and
   weighing ≥ 2750 grams, who are developing typically per pediatrician well-visit report
   and match the PT group on age, gender, and SES.

Exclusion Criteria:

   - Congenital anomalies or recognizable malformation syndromes

   - Mother's self-reported use of illicit drugs or alcohol during pregnancy;

   - Birth weight <3rd %tile (small for gestational age, SGA) according to gestational age
   specific growth curves;

   - Serious neurological problems including active seizure disorder (afebrile seizure
   within the last year) and/or anticonvulsant medication use, history of a central
   nervous system infections, or ventriculoperitoneal shunt for treatment for
   hydrocephalus

   - IQ < 70 on the testing of this study because we would expect language delays in this
   group;

   - Sensori-neural hearing loss, defined as 4-tone pure-tone average > 25 decibels as
   assessed at any time because hearing loss compromises language and reading
   development;

   - Visual impairments that would interfere with the ability to read; (8) presence of any
   other health condition that might compromise academic functioning (FT only).

   - Any child who has not been learning English either at home or at school for at least 2
   years

Ages Eligible for Study

57 Months - 78 Months

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Not currently accepting new patients for this trial

Contact Information

Stanford University
School of Medicine
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Vanessa N Durand, BA
650-498-7690
Not Recruiting