Evaluation of language comprehension in young children with white matter diseases: development and application of a screeningsinstrument.

Children with pre- or perinatal acquired white matter damage, are part of a
larger population ,also called children with Cerebral Palsy. In most cases ,
white matter damage, is the result of hypoxic ischaemia: because of
unsufficient bloodflow through the young and newborn brain, unresolvable damage
is caused, especially in the white matter.
In premature born children ( 24 and 37 weeks of gestational age), hypoxic
ischaemia is caused by respiratory problems of the infant and the need for
invasive artificial respiratory stimulation. This chronic ischaemia can cause
extensive damage to the white matter, also referred to as periventricular
leucomalacie (PVL).
In the mature born child,hypoxic ischaemia is caused by problems with birth,
often resulting in basal ganglia necrosis (BGN) and damage to the central
cerebral cortex.
Communication and speech abilities are often impaired in children with
cerebral palsy. Because of severely impaired movement disorders no speech
abilties are possible, whereas often reliable gesture and facial expression are
also impaired.
The aim of this study is to investigate and reveal insights in the language
comprehension of non-speech children with Cerebral palsy. Since there is no
developed and standardized common used test system for these children, the
first
practice is to develop a screeningsinstrument which enables professionals to
gain insights in the language development of these severely handicapped
children.

1. The development of a standardized screeningsinstrument to evaluate the
language comprehension of severly handicapped children with movement disorders
and who cannot speak, as a result of white matter damage.

2.To evaluate the difference between language comprehension of children with
PVL and BGN

3.To evaluate the effect of the insights in language comprehension of severely
non- speech impaired children with movement disorders on the respectivily
chosen or not chosen implementation of augmentative communication programmes
for these children and the consequence of this choice for the quality of
communication.

Observational study without invasive measurements

no risks