The early utterances of preterm infants

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Abstract
This study examined the utterances of infants born preterm in order to ascertain whether there were any differences in speech‐sound production between healthy preterm infants and those who had suffered perinatal insult. Thirty‐three infants whose corrected ages ranged from nine months to 22 months were assessed. Of these, 21 had suffered intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH); the remaining 12 acted as controls. The assessment measure was derived from the literature on early vocalisations through to two‐word combinations. These assessments were administered by a speech therapist and a medical student. Results showed a high correlation with the results of a standardised test of expressive communication administered by a psychologist. Both groups of subjects showed delay in speech‐sound acquisition but the IVH infants showed a more severe delay and wider range of performance than did the control group. These findings and their implications are discussed together with others relating to the most propitious situation for utterances and the appropriateness of the procedures.