VINELAND ADAPTIVE-BEHAVIOR SCALES AS A SUMMARY OF FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME OF EXTREMELY LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT CHILDREN

This study reports moderate to high Pearson correlations between Vinel and Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) subscale and total scores and a var iety of cognitive, academic and motor performance tests on a populatio n of extremely low-birthweight infants assessed at eight years of age. The subscales describe adaptive behaviour in daily living, communicat ion, motor function and socialization, as well as an adaptive behaviou r composite score. Because it can provide a norm-referenced descriptio n of functional outcomes and can be used to assess all children regard less of disability, the authors believe that the VABS should be applie d uniformly by all groups reporting school-age outcome of neonatal int ensive-care populations.