PP1107 - The Development of the Preterm Infants Vestibular Skills Questionnaire

To date, there are no questionnaires developed specifically for premature infants, who often experience critical development periods in the NICU, to track their vestibular and auditory development. The purpose of this study is to develop the Preterm Infants Vestibular Questionnaire (PIVSQ) that will target many different developmental areas including reflexes, motor milestones, and social-emotional milestones. This questionnaire will target the needs and growth patterns that differ from full-term infants, including considerations for sensory deficits. This research will allow for a questionnaire that will catch more vestibular abnormalities in premature infants faster and allow caretakers to seek out intervention quickly.

Summary:

Infants who have spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) following their premature birth often have delays/deficits due to the interruption of the typical maturation of the auditory and vestibular systems. This will impact their motor, vestibular, and auditory developmental milestones as they age (Neel et al., 2019). Specifically, the long-term vestibular outcomes of preterm infants often depend on the neurosensory experiences and social environments of the NICU. In utero, infants typically feel the effect of gravity and the rocking movements as they move weightlessly in the womb. They also meet resistance of the womb wall, which in turn, works to develop muscle tone. In the last trimester, the infant is likely positioned head town, which provides intense input to movement. In contrast, while in the NICU, the infant experiences stillness and no protection from gravity. The noise input is loud to very loud, and when the infant is lying on their back, their arms and legs fall outwards. The infant develops no muscle tone to resist gravity (O’Farrell, 2017). These deficits, among others, can predispose the infant to vestibular abnormalities throughout their development. To date, current normative data of questionnaires/tests used is based on infants who have not spent time in the NICU. To remediate this gap, the Preterm Infants Vestibular Skills Questionnaire (PIVSQ) was designed to catch more vestibular abnormalities in premature infants faster which, in turn, would allow caretakers to seek out intervention at a quicker pace. The PIVSQ targets many different developmental areas including reflexes, motor milestones, and social-emotional milestones.

The PIVSQ was developed after conducting a thorough literature review of current measures and review developmental milestones. The PIVSQ is currently being piloted within our Speech and Hearing Clinic as well as reaching out to parents/guardians in local and online preemie social media communities. The data from this piloted phase will assist the researchers in refining the questionnaire based on parent/guardian feedback and functionality of the scoring process. This data will be presented in the poster.

The significance of this research is to refine a valuable resource used to target the needs, both auditory and vestibular, of premature infants. It is important to create a simple tool for the applicant that is easily understood while simultaneously maintaining critical information for a proper and effective diagnosis. Through obtaining data collection regarding user experience, the questionnaire will be refined and edited to become the most beneficial resource in targeting auditory and vestibular deficits in premature infants. Upon completion of this study, it is expected that the PIVSQ will be edited to optimize and simplify the user’s experience.