Prediction of early school-age problems by a preschool neurodevelopmental examination of children at risk neonatally.

A group of 350 children who had had neonatal developmental risk-factors were assessed at the age of five years with a neurodevelopmental examination. At nine years they were assessed again for neuropaediatric, motor, psycholinguistic, cognitive and school-achievement problems. (Children with major handicaps were excluded). Poor performance at age five was significantly associated with failure in the nine-year examinations and with school problems. Sensitivity of the five-year neurodevelopmental examination in predicting problems at nine years was 0.30 to 0.50, and its predictive value for an abnormal performance was 0.30 to 0.60. Predictively, the neurodevelopmental examination was accurate in defining children without later problems, but less satisfactory in defining those who did develop problems. Multiple linear regression analyses between the neurodevelopmental examination and the scores at nine years revealed low explanatory power. A shortened neurodevelopmental examination, based on the best predictors, seemed to be as efficient as the full examination.