Sensory processing difficulties in school-age children born very preterm: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Very preterm birth has a detrimental impact on the developing brain, including widespread white matter brain abnormalities that threaten efficient sensory processing. Yet, sensory processing difficulties in very preterm children are scarcely studied, especially at school age. AIMS: To investigate somatosensory registration, multisensory integration and sensory modulation. PARTICIPANTS: 57 very preterm school-age children (mean age=9.2years) were compared to 56 gender and age matched full-term children. METHODS: Group differences on somatosensory registration tasks (Registration of Light Touch, Sensory Discrimination of Touch, Position Sense, Graphestesia), a computerized multisensory integration task, and the parent-reported Sensory Profile were investigated using t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: In comparison to full-term children, very preterm children are less accurate on somatosensory registration tasks, including Registration of Light Touch (d=0.34), Position Sense (d=0.31) and Graphestesia (d=0.42) and show more sensory modulation difficulties (d=0.41), including both behavioral hyporesponsivity (d=0.52) and hyperresponsivity (d=0.56) to sensory stimuli. Tactile discrimination and multisensory integration efficiency were not affected in very preterm children. Aspects of sensory processing were only modestly related. CONCLUSION: Very preterm children show sensory processing difficulties regarding somatosensory registration and sensory modulation, and preserved multisensory (audio-visual) integration. Follow-up care for very preterm children should involve screening of sensory processing difficulties at least up to school age.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in school-age children born very preterm.

BACKGROUND: Very preterm (VP) children face a broad range of neurodevelopmental sequelae, including behavioral problems. AIM: To investigate prevalence, pervasiveness and co-occurrence of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in school-age children born very preterm. METHODS: Using questionnaire and diagnostic interview data, parent and teacher reported symptoms of ADHD and ASD of 57 VP-children (mean age = 9.2 years) were compared with 57 gender and age matched full-term children using t-tests. Intra-class correlation coefficients quantified parent-teacher agreement. Correlation analysis investigated co-occurrence of ADHD/ASD symptoms. ADHD/ASD measures were aggregated using principal component analysis. Regression analyses investigated the contribution of perinatal risk factors, sex and SES to ADHD/ASD symptoms. RESULTS: VP-children showed higher levels of parent and teacher reported attention problems, social impairment and compromised communication skills. Fair to strong agreement was found between parent and teacher reported ADHD and ASD symptoms, indicating pervasiveness of observed difficulties. Co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD symptoms in VP-children was found. Lower gestational age was associated with higher ADHD and ASD symptom levels, male sex with higher ADHD symptom levels and lower SES with higher ASD symptom levels. CONCLUSION: School-age VP-children show higher levels of ADHD and ASD symptoms, and attention, socialization and communication difficulties in particular. Routinely screening for these problems is recommended in follow-up care.