2012 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 146-151
Low birth weight has been reported as a risk factor for congenital hearing loss, however, its effect on the Japanese language development remains unclear. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of low birth weight infants among children with pre-lingual severe to profound hearing loss and to investigate the characteristics of their Japanese language development. Of 627 hearing-impaired children recruited for this research, 89 children (14.2%) had a low birth weight of under 2,500g. In regard to the results of the Japanese language development tests in these children, the vocabulary development was the same as that in the normal birth weight hearing loss children, whereas the results of syntax development test and communication ability test were significantly inferior to those in the normal birth weight hearing loss children. Furthermore, the scores on the Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism Society of Japan rating scale (PARS) in the low birth weight hearing loss children were higher than those in the normal birth weight hearing loss children. These results suggested that low birth weight may be a risk factor for hearing loss with pervasive developmental disorders.
