Twin studies suggest that expressive vocabulary at ~24 months is modestly heritable. However, the genes influencing this early linguistic phenotype are unknown. Here we conduct a genome-wide screen and follow-up study of expressive vocabulary in toddlers of European descent from up to four studies of the EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology consortium, analysing an early (15–18 months, ‘one-word stage’, NTotal=8,889) and a later (24–30 months, ‘two-word stage’, NTotal=10,819) phase of language acquisition. For the early phase, one single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs7642482) at 3p12.3 near ROBO2, encoding a conserved axon-binding receptor, reaches the genome-wide significance level (P=1.3 × 10−8) in the combined sample. This association links language-related common genetic variation in the general population to a potential autism susceptibility locus and a linkage region for dyslexia, speech-sound disorder and reading. The contribution of common genetic influences is, although modest, supported by genome-wide complex trait analysis (meta-GCTA h215–18-months=0.13, meta-GCTA h224–30-months=0.14) and in concordance with additional twin analysis (5,733 pairs of European descent, h224-months=0.20).

Background: Dexamethasone treatment is associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy (CP). Early hydrocortisone (HC) treatment may decrease the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia; however, the long-term effects are still under evaluation. Follow-up of randomized studies concerning early HC treatment is essential to confirm the long-term safety. Objective: We hypothesized that early HC treatment in very preterm infants does not impair the neurologic outcome. Methods: We report follow-up data from a randomized trial of early HC given for 10 days. Before the HC or placebo treatment, serum cortisol levels were measured. Receiver-operating characteristic was defined. Values below the median were classified as low endogenous cortisol and those above the median as high endogenous cortisol. A meta-analysis was performed. Results: Altogether 98% of the 46 surviving infants participated in a follow-up study at a corrected age of 2 years. The growth characteristics were similar between the study groups. The developmental quotients (DQs) of the children with high endogenous cortisol and placebo treatment shortly after birth (100 ± 13) and those with low endogenous cortisol and HC (97 ± 7) were not lower than the DQs of the children with high endogenous cortisol and HC (92 ± 3) or low cortisol and placebo (96 ± 2). According to a meta-analysis of three available trials (411 children), the rate of CP and survival without neurosensory or cognitive impairment was not influenced by HC. Conclusion: Early low-dose HC administration had no adverse effects at 2 years of age. Further studies are required to define the target group for neonatal HC.

TS translated the surveys into their native languages and disseminated them in their respective countries. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

According to the CCC-2 profiles, many children with ADHD may have various kinds of communication difficulties, even if they do not have a diagnosed language disorder.

IntroductionThe universal right to education for people with disabilities has been highlighted by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In this paper, we mapped policies addressing the right to education and special education needs of autistic children in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.MethodsA policy path analysis was carried out using a scoping review as an underlying framework for data gathering. Policy mapping was performed independently by both lead authors to increase reliability.Results and discussionThe values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have been closely translated into the respective education systems of the countries under study, offering special education needs services and support in mainstream education with the aim of including as many children into mainstream education as possible. Even though the education systems are comparable, the approaches between the countries under study are slightly different. Denmark and Sweden have passed several policies specifically geared towards special education needs, while Finland incorporates this more in general education policy.ConclusionAll countries under study have incorporated the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in their respective education systems while emphasising the need to include as many children in the mainstream system as possible.