ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a study that concerns the later cognitive functioning of children who were under 1,500 grams at birth. Specifically, it compares their performance on a number of cognitive scales to that of a full-term, appropriate birth weight group of control subjects. One of the several significant differences I. Alm found between the two groups was that there were four times as many low birth weight subjects than control subjects in institutions such as psychiatric hospitals, institutions for the mentally retarded, the physically handicapped, the blind, and so forth. C. M. Drillien was responsible for many early investigations into the development of low birth weight individuals. Alm also noted that there were twice the number of low birth weight subjects attending special classes, but that there were no significant differences between low birth weight subjects and controls on variables such as criminality, income and public welfare.
