The aim of this study was to assess cognitive development and behavior of 20 preterm and very low birthweight children at school age. For the cognitive assessment it was used psychometric assessment (RAVEN and WISC) and assisted assessement approaches. Rutter´s Scale was used to assess behavior. Results show that children presented average intellectual level in the psychometric tests used, with a tendency of cognitive impairment. The results of the assisted cognitive assessment showed that most children were classified as "gainners"; the children improved their performance with the examiner´s assistance and were able to implement efficient strategies to solve the task problem. Behavioral data indicated the necessity of psychological treatment for most children. There were correlations between the results of the cognitive assessments themselves and between results of the cognitive assessment and the behavioral assessment. These results indicate the need to follow-up the high risk neonatal child's psychological development.
pre-term; very low birth weight; cognitive development
