Study on Forecasting of Development of High-Risk Children by Psychological Assesment

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This study deals with the possibility of forecasting from their youngest years the development of extremely low birth weight children, among all high-risk children, whose course of development is not clear. Once the course is elucidated, related information will be applied in assisting in the development of these children. In order to obtain clues for implementing such a forecast, we conducted Enjoji's infantile development test for four years on extremely low birth weight children from the one-year-old stage to the four-year-old stage Developmental changes were analyzed with reference to two indices : developmental age (DA) and developmental quotient (DQ).It was discovered that the speed and profile of development varied by individual in the areas of locomotion, hand movement fundamental behavior, human relations, articulation, and language comprehension, although there was uniform improvement in all the areas with growth. By their fourth year, all subjects had attained a functionalit … More y in these areas nearly comparable to that of normal children of the same age.We conducted studies with DA and DQ as indices on changes in the level of development according to aging. As well, we took achievements the subjects made in the first two years of life as the basis for diagnosis. Not only characteristic changes in the development profile and individual differences, but changes by area of development, were recognized. Generally speaking, the causes of development were complex, which suggests the need for further studies on forecasting development, although the following three clues were obtained.1) There were high correlations between aging and progress in both locomotion and hand movement. This indicated that the use of this corelation for an index of forecasting development is possible.2) Development analysis conducted on the subjects, which ranged in age from one to four, proved difficult because of a number of complex elements. However, distribution narrowed around the age of two, meaning that data obtained at this age and later would be reliable in forecasting.3) The tests suggested that the methods outlined would be of greater use when employed in conjunction with indices used to distinguish subjects with learning disabilities and behavioral disturbances from those without. Less