# Efficacy of Motor and Cognitive Intervention for Infants Born Very Preterm

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $433,809

## Abstract

Infants born very preterm (≤28 weeks of gestation) are at high risk of having developmental disabilities
including cerebral palsy, coordination impairments, attention deficit and learning disabilities. Impairment
including reduced postural control, movement variability, visual motor skills, and motor learning are common
during the first months of life and are associated with later developmental disabilities. However, infant born
very preterm rarely receive evidence based therapeutic intervention in the first months of life when basic
science and animal intervention studies suggest the greatest efficacy. Barriers to enrollment in services delay
the onset of services and delivery models rarely support targeted preventative intervention or enhanced
parent engagement during in the transition from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home.
 Targeted intervention supporting postural control and motor learning in the NICU have resulted in short
term motor gains. Interventions that enhance parent's ability to read their infant's cues and provide
engagement opportunities improve maternal mental health and infant social and cognitive outcomes in the
short-term. The purpose of this randomized clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention that
combines evidence based motor intervention and parent engagement to enhance the parent's ability to
provide daily motor and cognitive opportunities resulting in improved motor and cognitive outcomes.
 Supporting Play Exploration and Development Intervention (SPEEDI) uses guided participation to
empower parents in reading infant's behavioral cues, identifying ideal times for interaction, and enriching the
environment and learning opportunities. Parents participate in 5 session in 3 weeks while learning principles
of engagement, readiness for interaction, and to provide early motor and cognitive learning opportunities.
Parents provide 20 minutes of motor and cognitive play based enrichment daily for 12 weeks with bi-weekly
physical therapist support. The parent is empowered to determine the infant's current abilities and advance
the activities to the “Just Right Challenge” throughout the 12 weeks, likely continuing after the intervention.
 The efficacy of SPEEDI will be assessed in 3 aims: To compare the efficacy of SPEEDI 1) to usual care
2) during delivery at 2 time point; the transition from the NICU to home (around the infant's due date) and
beginning at 3-4 months of adjusted age (after the infants due date) 3) for infant who are later diagnosed with
Cerebral Palsy and those not Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Ninety infants will be randomly assigned to a
Usual Care group, SPEEDI_Early, or SPEEDI_Late group. Group differences will be assessed in
developmental outcomes on the motor and cognitive scales of the Bayley Scales for Infant and Toddler
Development, Early Problem Solving Indicator, and Gross Motor Function Measure at the end of each
intervention period, 12 and 24 months of age. In additi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10437697
- **Project number:** 5R01HD093624-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Stacey Chapman Dusing
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $433,809
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10437697

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10437697, Efficacy of Motor and Cognitive Intervention for Infants Born Very Preterm (5R01HD093624-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10437697. Licensed CC0.

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