Grace now, aged 11. Winner of her school Mastermind Trophy 2007.
Grace born too early at 29 weeks, fighting to survive chronic lung disease.
Parents of children born prematurely may often be looking for guidance as their child gets older and goes to school...
why not share your experiences on our message board.
Long after your child is discharged
from SCBU and goes on to enter mainstream education, problems can
start to arise as academic progression places much more demand on your child's abilities.
Welcome to our site supporting premature children.
This site was set up in December 2007 to honour our daughter Grace and her achievements.
To support parents of children born prematurely in the UK - Helping our children get the educational provisions they are entitled.
To provide a resource of information for parents, teachers and medical professionals, by working together as 'parents in partnership'.
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New... Understanding the Brain - The Birth of a Learning Science
A major project has been underway. It's objective: to bring together two areas of research and knowledge about how people learn - cognitive neuroscience and education.
Including: brain plasticity - early intervention - sensitive periods for learning Link...
Grace's brain training time, using
Premature babies can suffer subtle
ill-effects later on at school - so why aren't they allowed to defer entry?
The Guardian - April 2008
Although premature babies have their real birthdate "corrected for" for the first two years, this has no impact on when the local authority requires them to begin school. And, says premature baby charity Bliss, the number of parents expressing urgent concerns about their child's capacity to cope with school a year earlier than if they had been born at term is increasing.
Bliss says parents are reporting that, despite having the discretion to allow deferral, education authorities are proving intransigent. The procedure for deferral is not widely publicised, the charity says, and only those parents who have been proactive and persistent tend to get the result they want.
In correspondence with Bliss, the children, schools and families minister, Ed Balls, agreed that the flexibility currently in place for entry into reception is not sufficient for some children.
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
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Our Government response to issues raised regarding early school intervention for premature children in the United Kingdom link...
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Stop Smoking
Mothers that smoke
may be at higher risk
of premature birth.
Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood stream due to the increase of nicotine and carbon monoxide, which in turn deprives your unborn baby of oxygen.
Mothers and their partners should stop smoking before trying for a baby.
Women who stop smoking before they become pregnant reduce the risk of harming their unborn child.
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Premature birth has long-term effects
The Guardian - March 2008
Study reveals increased risk of mortality
Premature birth has consequences for children right into adulthood, according a study in Norway based on an analysis of more than a million births. Premature infants have an increased risk of dying in late childhood compared with healthy babies, and they are significantly less likely to have children themselves. Mothers who were premature are more likely to give birth early as well.
The researchers say the extra lifetime burden of premature birth should be better recognised by doctors and taken into consideration when making decisions about treatment later in life.
According to the premature baby support charity Bliss, about one in eight babies, or 80,000 a year, are born prematurely in the UK. Of these, 17,000 need intensive care.
The team looked at comprehensive official Norwegian records of births, deaths and education for people born between 1967 and 1976. Each person in the country has a unique record number which allows the three databases to be combined. For the oldest cases the team were able to follow people to the age of 35.
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
Continued...
The BBC report however goes further... explaining that researchers followed children born decades ago - prior to many advances - that the overall risk of early death was low.
© BBC News
Does your child have a learning delay or disability? Do they require extra time for their Key Stage school tests? If so they may be entitled to extra test time and or additional provision link...
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New... What the teacher needs to know
Hidden Disabilities in Premature Children
Given the prevalence of hidden disabilities in premature children it is imperative that teachers are aware of the problems faced by these children.
Read extract - buy the article...
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MANY CHILDREN RECEIVE LATE DIAGNOSIS. Early identification allows for earlier intervention.
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In a study, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the volume of the hippocampus in three different groups of children: those who had been diagnosed with developmental amnesia (DA), a group who had been born prematurely with a very low birth weight (LBW) and a control group.
The researchers found that the DA and LBW groups had smaller hippocampi.
This is extremely important with regards to early intervention. Learning strategies
may help overcome memory deficits by taking advantage early on, of the developing brain's plasticity and it's ability to re-organise cognitive function.
The hippocampi, an area of the brain that plays a role in acquiring memories and storing and retrieving spatial information.
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AboutKidsHealth - A Guide
for Advocating Your Child at School
Including: School age and corrected age for children who were born prematurely - Working with your child’s teacher and school officials.
Although guided by United States educational laws, this information serves as a useful guide for parents and carers of premature children worldwide.
“Your goal is to work with your child’s teacher to get the best education for your child”. View guide
AboutKidsHealth is an initiative of
The Hospital for Sick Children and is one of the largest paediatric teaching hospitals in the world. The hospital has an international reputation for excellence in health care, research, and teaching. They are committed to improving the health and well being of children across Canada and around the world.
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Summer Born Children to start school up to a year later according to Schools Secretary Ed Balls - BBC January 2008
Ed Ball’s review of the primary school curriculum for summer-born children is a positive step in the right direction in our opinion. It acknowledges children born in August may face an unfair disadvantage against their older peers, all the way up to the age of 16.
A study has shown August born pupils were less likely to get five good GCSEs than those born in September.
A child born prematurely in August could have even more odds stacked against them.
We would like any further reviews and studies to incorporate the difficulties children born prematurely face, when trying to catch up with their full-term
Counterparts.
Many premature children may appear to have delayed academic development, however if they were permitted to start school later they may have progressed enough to take on the national curriculum, without being placed at a disadvantage. This would also help reduce the burden on local authorities and schools regarding special educational needs provision (SEN).
© BBC News
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Grace's brain training time, using
The educational outcomes for premature children are varied - some may have cognitive and fine motor deficits, also difficulties in planning, attention and behaviour problems.
It's not uncommon for some premature children to be gifted and talented in many areas of their school curriculum, whilst in other children abilities appear to be developmentally delayed.
Very premature children can suffer brain damage at birth, though the reasons for this are still unclear.
Recent MRI research is starting to show that possibly, the developing brain has the ability to re-organise itself and to move cognitive functions to undamaged areas of the brain, that can cope with dual function. This is exciting news in that earlier therapy may encourage brain development.
Some developmental deficits may only become apparent as your child progresses through school, and increasing academic requirements begin to highlight any cognitive delay.
No one wants to think of their child as being different, however it's extremely important that any academic or developmental delays are picked up as early as possible. This can only be achieved by early assessment and complete cooperation between parents, schools and medical professionals.
It's important to bear in mind that a proportion of children are doing just fine and are free of impairments. Very pre-term children may have variable development across abilities, and not all children are likely to fit the same profile on assessment.
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Alcohol and pregnancy
How does alcohol affect pregnancy?
Alcohol can affect the baby’s growth and development, in particular, the way the baby’s brain develops.
© Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
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In the UK there seems to be inadequate correlation between research into the effects of premature birth and educational assessment and provision.
When a child is born pre-term, there should be a plan of action to safeguard their future.
We think the days of the follow-up paediatrician, trying to console the worried parent with... “they will catch-up by three or five years” are in the past. We are finally starting to move on with regard to this school of thought. Each child is an individual and treads his or her own unique developmental path.
Early Intervention
What’s needed now is a clear plan of action regarding early educational assessment and provision.
There seems little point in having excellent research without action being taken decisively, and within that narrow window of opportunity.
Alan and Becky
Updating...
Links to educational and medical services, documents and support sites.
Links to medical research papers.
Links to online forums that provide a wealth of information and support for parents and children in similar circumstances.
BBC News: This site shows articles about prematurity and the issues surrounding it that are currently in the news.
© 2007 www.gurbutt.co.uk
Support Site for Premature Children
GURBUTT
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