Earliest predictors of language outcomes in high-risk infants

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One in every nine babies in the US is born preterm. Speech, language and hearing disorders (SLD) are among the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders in children, especially among very preterm survivors. About 40% of very preterm infants (≤32 weeks gestational age) develop speech-language disorders while 10% have permanent hearing loss, increasing the impact on communication difficulties. Currently, it is not possible to accurately predict in the first several years of life which children will develop speech-language disorders, and speech- language therapy is the most delayed of any intervention provided to preterm infants. Such an advance would facilitate early intervention and research therapies during critical windows of optimal neuroplasticity. Our central hypothesis is that prediction of speech-language disorders is possible by 3 m corrected age (CA) with combined innovative measures of structural and functional brain connectivity with magnetic resonance imaging, evoked response measures of speech processing, and novel, sensitized hearing measures. Primary aims of this supplement are: Aim 1. Compare verbal, nonverbal, and social communication in full-term and preterm toddlers. Aim 2. Compare hearing sensitivity (cABR and DPOAE) in full-term and preterm infants, and behavioral audiometry in full-term and preterm toddlers. Compare rsfEEG and MMR in full-term and preterm infants.This study will enroll healthy, fullterm children to collect comprehensive hearing and neurophysiologic measures at 3 months, and language and hearing assessment at 2 years CA for comparison to matched preterm children.