According to Southern California Sensory Integration Tests, assessment of prematurely born children with normal birth weight children who born at term

ABSTRACT According to Southern California Sensory Integration Tests, Assestment of Prematurely Born Children With Normal Birth Weight Children Who Were Born Term. In this study we took two groups of children who were attending in first and second classes of elementery education school in a certain region of Malatya city center where has a high level of social-economics. In the first groups 30 children who were bom as premature and in the second group there were 30 children who were born at term as control gorups sensory integration tests were made in the second half time of 1998-1999 education year. Children in premature group were born before the thirty eight weeks of gestation and children in control group were born at term and birth weight were greater than 2500 grams. The premature born and the control children who were born term attending same class were matched smilarly for age, sex, parents education and job situations. Seventeen (56,6 %) children of both groups were male and thirteen (43,4 %) of them were female. The mean gestation time in premature group was 31,86 (±2,4) while it was 40 weeks in conrol group. Mean birth weight was 2045 (±522,6) in premature group and it was 3398,33 (± 339,9) grams in contol group. In premature group the birth weight according to gestation time was in appropriate limits. Premature group was classified according to gestation as two classes, in first class children who were born in the 31 weeks or earlier and in the second class children who were born later than 31 weeks were taken. In the group whose gestation time was 31 weeks or earlier (Group 1) eight of fourteen were male (Group 1M) and six of them were female (Group IF). In the group whose gestation time was greater than 3 1 weeks (Group2) nine of sixteen were male (Group2M) while seven of them were female (Group2F). The Group3 was including the children whose mothers that were uneducatted and the mothers completed the elementery school and the Group5 was including the children whose mothers completed secondary school and the Group4 was including the children whose mother completed the high school. The results of SCSITs of Group3 and Group4 as well as the Group3 and Group5 were compared. Differences among groups according to age, parents education and job situation were statistically not important (P>0,05). For this study results of tests which measures sensation, perception and motor functions including; posture imitation (IP), crossing mid line of body (CML), crossing mid-line of body with right hand (CML-R), crossing mid-line of body with left hand (CML-L), bilateral motor coordination (BMC), right-left differention (RLD), standing balance-eyes open on right foot (SBO-R) and closed (SBC- R), standing balance-eyes open on left foot (SBO-L) and closed (SBC-L) were compared according to Southern California Sensory Integration Tests (SCSITs). In same groups there were stastistically important differences from SCSITs results. Results of posture imitation tests were found statistically important differences between premature born and controls, between premature born girls and control girls, between Group3 and Group4, between Group4 and Group5 (P<0,05). Results of crossing mid-line of body tests were found statistically important between Group2F and Group IF, also betweem Group2F and Group2M (P<0,05). Results of crossing mid-line of body with left hand were found statistically important between premature born boys and controls, between Group2F and Group IF and between Group2F and Group2M (P<0,05). Results of standing balance eyes-open on right foot were found statistically important between Group3 and Group4 (P<0,05). As a result of this study we can say that; ther were differences for sensation, perception and motor function tests between premature born and term born children who were attending the same education program in school and that these differences can be vary according to sex, gestation time and mother education. Key Words: Sensory Integration, Premature, SCSITs XI