Maternal Child-Directed Language in Toddlerhood Predicts Communicative Development Outcomes at 30 Months in a Very Preterm Sample

In this longitudinal study of children born very preterm (< 32 gestational weeks) and children born full-term, the amount and quality of maternal child-directed language at 18 months corrected age accounted for unique variance in communicative developmental outcomes (expressive vocabulary, word combinations, and communicative gestures) at 30 months corrected age.