To become successful readers, hearing children require competence in both decoding--the ability to read individual words, underpinned by phonological skills and letter-sound knowledge--and linguistic comprehension--the ability to understand what they read--underpinned by language skills, including vocabulary knowledge. Children who are born with a…

Reviews research on frequently occurring perinatal risk factors, especially the relationship between small-for-gestational age infants and later language and language-related skills. It finds that being too young, too small, or both represent risk factors for language development that increase in that order and are sufficient to warrant language…

High-risk infants may exhibit hearing impairments which can subsequently impede speech/language development. Discussed are prenatal risk factors, including environmental toxins and infections; and perinatal factors such as prematurity, asphyxia, intracranial hemorrhage, bilirubin, ototoxic drugs, and environmental noise. A table summarizes factors…

This article describes a collaborative consultation process developed at the University of New Mexico's University Hospital to address the needs of newborns at risk and their families. It considers the interdisciplinary team structure of the Developmental Care clinical team, collaborative service delivery approaches, and specialized competencies…