My in Special Education was an RCT concerning a multidisciplinary early intervention including 130 recruited infants born extremely preterm and their parents. Children born before 28 gestational weeks may spend three months in the hospital before discharge. The days in the neonatal intensive care unit may be experienced as intense by the parents. However, many families describe challenges during the first months back home post-discharege as well, with contious worry for their child's development, changed family dynamics and parental loneliness ().
Through the Prematurförbundet family association, we know that many families feel alone and uncertain post discharge. In order to support parents and children in the discharge process, a multiprofessional research group created, implemnted and evaluated an early intervention program called the Stockholm Preterm Interaction-Based Intervention (SPIBI). SPIBI included ten home visits during the first year at home, focusing on positive parent-child interaction with the aim of promoting the child's long-term development. The research protocol is published and the primary outcome measure .
As part of my postdoctoral position, I am working on a project to replicate an early intervention program with the aim of promoting child-parent interaction by strengthening parents' sensitivity to their child's early communication. I am also working on a project to strengthen teachers' knowledge of the special needs of their prematurely born students may have.
I am part of the Young Survivor Unit (YoSU) in the Division of Children's and Women's Health (BKH) at the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV).