Abstract
Early communication intervention has advanced to include neonatal assessment and management. Currently, however, there are limited diagnostic tools developed from a speech-language pathology and audiology perspective. The purpose of the study was to design a comprehensive neonatal communication assessment protocol and use it to describe the communication skills of 50 biologically at-risk neonates (852 g-3060 g birthweight). The results indicated that the subjects' general development was within normal limits, but their communication abilities displayed a serious delay. A high risk register consisting of 13 factors predicting the subjects' communication abilities was compiled. The length of time before the subjects could successfully take bottle feeds was found to be the strongest predictor of their communication development. The study is of particular relevance to the present South African context which has an increased incidence of low birth weight, thus rendering an enlarged population of biologically at-risk neonates.
Highlights
INTRODUCTION ÎąEarly communication intervention for handicapped and at-risk infants and toddlers and their families is a new speciality of speech-language pathology and audiology, but is already accepted as the preferred form of intervention for this population (Rossetti, 1990)
This indicates that early communication interventionists use a variety of resources available for neonatal assessments that may not be designed for a comprehensive evaluation of these infants' communication skills and may not sufficiently address the specific needs of neonatal communication intervention
- To identify risk factors relating to the communication skills of the group of biologically at-risk neonates in order to compile a high risk register of their communication development
Summary
INTRODUCTION ÎąEarly communication intervention for handicapped and at-risk infants and toddlers and their families is a new speciality of speech-language pathology and audiology, but is already accepted as the preferred form of intervention for this population (Rossetti, 1990). As a result of this development speech-language therapists and audiologists have become members of the multi-disciplinary team providing services in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In a survey of early communication intervention services in NICU's in the USA, Dunn, van Kleeck and Rossetti (1993) found that 91% of the speech-language pathologists involved in such services made use of informal assessment procedures. This indicates that early communication interventionists use a variety of resources available for neonatal assessments that may not be designed for a comprehensive evaluation of these infants' communication skills and may not sufficiently address the specific needs of neonatal communication intervention
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