Executive function and preterm birth: A longitudinal study.

Infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm are at risk for developmental delay and cognitive deficits. These deficits can lead to lifelong learning difficulties and high-risk behaviors. Preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) groups were compared across infant and toddler measures of behavior and development to extract early indicators of executive function (EF). The goal was to extract indicators of EF from standardized infant assessments. PT (<2500 grams and <37 weeks) and FT (> 2500 grams and >37 weeks) were compared across assessment and EF components were identified from the BSID-III. A multivariate linear model was used to examine group differences. All children (99 PT and 46 FT) were administered the Bayley III and the DMQ assessments for session 1 (6-8 months). During session 2, N=78 PT and 37 FT (18-20 months), the CBCL was added to previous assessments, and the BRIEF-P was added to previous assessments in session 3, N= 52 PT and 36 FT for session 3 (See Table 1). Significant change scores were found on BSID-III subtests and EF components across all 3 sessions. The PT group also showed significantly more behavioral concerns on the CBCL at 18 months and 36 months and had lower scores on the BRIEF-P than their FT peers. The number of children born PT (N = 27, 52%) who were in Early Intervention (EI) increased across the 3 sessions. Examining early indicators of EFs supported the development of early identification that could lead to decrease adverse outcomes often associated with preterm birth.

Parental involvement in developmental disabilities across three cultures: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Parents play a critical role in the early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) services provided to young children (birth-6 years) with developmental disabilities. AIM: The aim of this systematic review was to explore parental involvement in developmental disabilities across three cultures: Mainland China, Taiwan, and Turkey. METHOD: According to PRISMA guidelines, we searched for articles indexed in EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, and PubMed published within the last decade for one culture (i.e., Mainland China, Taiwan, and Turkey), using the following keywords: family/parent involvement/engagement, developmental disability/disabilities, young child/children, EI/ECSE, and culture. RESULTS: Twenty-four empirical studies were identified as relevant to our research. A majority of articles reported maternal involvement in EI/ECSE, and only a few studies included parents as intervention agents. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the need for future research to investigate effects of culture on parental involvement and develop culturally responsive methodical approaches to underpin meaningful parental involvement in EI/ECSE.