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Language development of children born following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) combined with assisted oocyte activation (AOA)
Author(s) -
D'haeseleer Evelien,
Vanden Meerschaut Frauke,
Bettens Kim,
Luyten Anke,
Gysels Hannelore,
Thienpont Ylenia,
Witte Griet,
Heindryckx Björn,
Oostra Ann,
Roeyers Herbert,
Sutter Petra De,
Lierde Kristiane
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of language and communication disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.101
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1460-6984
pISSN - 1368-2822
DOI - 10.1111/1460-6984.12100
Subject(s) - intracytoplasmic sperm injection , language development , oocyte activation , developmental psychology , psychology , language delay , audiology , pediatrics , percentile , medicine , oocyte , pregnancy , infertility , embryo , biology , genetics , statistics , mathematics
Background The effect of assisted reproduction technology (ART) on language development is still unclear. Moreover, different techniques are introduced at rapid pace and are not always accompanied by extensive follow‐up programmes. Aims To investigate the language development of 3–10‐year‐old children born following ART using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) combined with assisted oocyte activation (AOA), which is a highly specialized technique applied in cases with a history of fertilization failure following conventional ICSI. Secondly, a comparison is made between the language development of singletons and twins. Methods & Procedures Twenty children, six boys and 14 girls, born following ICSI combined with AOA and older than 3 years were included in the study. The mean age of the children was 5;4 years (range = 3;1–10;4 years; SD = 1;8 years). Expressive and receptive language development were assessed using the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF‐IV‐NL) for children older than 5 years and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (RTOS) for children younger than or equal to 5 years. Outcomes & Results The mean total score for language ability (in percentiles) was 56.8 (SD = 33.6), which corresponds to normal language skills. Significantly higher scores were found for AOA singletons compared with twins. For the general language, none of the children scored within the clinical zone for language disability corresponding with a percentile lower than 5. Conclusion & Implications This study presents the first data concerning language outcome in 3–10‐year‐old children born following AOA. General language scores of the AOA children in this study are located within the normal ranges. The language development of singletons was significantly better compared with twins. Although the results are reassuring for language development, in future long‐term follow‐up studies in this population are necessary.