Joint Attention Development in Low-risk Very Low Birth Weight Infants at Around 18 Months of Age

• Published in: Kobe journal of the medical sciences Vol. 62; no. 4; pp. E89 - E98
• Main Authors: Yamaoka, Noriko, Takada, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Kobe University School Of Medicine 18.10.2016
• Subjects: Attention; Autism Spectrum Disorder - diagnosis; Autism Spectrum Disorder - etiology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Birth Weight; Case-Control Studies; Child Development; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight - psychology; Male; Risk Factors; Joint attention; Very low birth weight infants; Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT); Low risk of complications
• ISSN: 0023-2513; 1883-0498

The purpose of this study was to clarify the developmental characteristics of joint attention in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with a low risk of complications. Section B of the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) was administered to 31 VLBW and 45 normal birth weight (NBW) infants aged 18-22 months, while the sessions were recorded with a video camera. A semi-structured observation scale was developed to assess infants' joint attention from the video footage, and was shown to be reliable. VLBW, compared to NBW, infants showed significantly poorer skills in 2 of 4 items on responding to joint attention, and in 6 of 10 items on initiating joint attention. VLBW infants need more clues in order to produce joint attention. The difficulty was attributed to insufficient verbal and fine motor function skills. Continuous follow-up evaluation is essential for both high-risk and low-risk VLBW infants and their parents.