Early Intervention Services Improve School-age Functional Outcome Among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of community-based early intervention (EI) services the on functional outcomes of high-risk infants at school age. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using data from the US Department of Education's National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study. Participants were enrolled in 1997 to 1998 with follow-up through 5 years and had a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, birth weight >400 g, and gestational age >23 weeks. Kindergarten outcomes were teacher assessments of academic and physical skills compared with classmates. Because treatment assignment is determined according to level of clinical need, we used repeated measures, marginal structural models with inverse probability of treatment weighting to account for confounding by indication. RESULTS: Of 405 participants, 47% had academic ratings average/above average and 71% had physical skills ratings average/above average. Odds of average/above average academic skills were lower for those with delayed EI enrollment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43-0.99) and trending, although not significantly, higher for those with greater service duration (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 0.98-2.22) and breadth (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.95-3.20). Odds of average/above average physical skills were lower for those with delayed EI enrollment (aOR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40-0.93) and higher for those with greater intensity (aOR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00-1.13) and breadth (aOR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.03-3.35), approaching significance for those with greater service duration (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 0.96-2.09). CONCLUSIONS: Longer, more intense services were associated with higher kindergarten skills ratings in children at risk for disabilities. Our novel findings support the effectiveness of large-scale EI programs and reinforce the importance of referral after NICU discharge.

The effect of the Infant Health and Development Program on special education use at school age.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of an intensive early intervention on special service use at school-age. STUDY DESIGN: The Infant Health and Development Program was a randomized controlled trial of an intervention for low birth weight (<2500 g) infants ages 0-3 years. We used multivariate logistic regression to test the association between intervention and risk of special education, remedial reading and math, and speech therapy at age 8 years. We also compared rates of service use between study arms among those with learning disabilities (LDs). RESULTS: There were 875 complete cases at 8-year follow-up. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in risk of special education (risk ratio [RR] 0.86, 95% CI 0.64-1.15), remedial reading (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.68-1.14), remedial math (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.63-1.34), or speech therapy (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.62-1.23). The treatment arms did not differ in rates of LDs, and service use for those with LDs was low and unaffected by study group. CONCLUSIONS: Early gains in IQ from infant interventions may not protect children as they face the educational demands of grade school. Only a fraction of those having a LD were receiving school-based support services, indicating a high level of unmet need among low birth weight children with disabilities.

Deaf education and bridging social capital: a theoretical approach.

The authors use elements of social capital theory to explore the rapidly changing landscape of deaf education in America. They suggest that the formation of relationships, and networks of relationships, between deaf students and adults has a value that often goes undetected or underappreciated in deaf education. The authors point out that social capital theory, as applied to deaf education, generates a number of potentially productive areas for improving outcomes among deaf students, and for future research in the field. The article includes discussion of a number of positive steps to promote bridging social capital among deaf students.