Gestural development and its relation to language acquisition in very preterm children

► We examine gestural development of preterm and full term children in the second year. ► The amount and type of gestures produced are similar in the groups. ► However preterm children exhibit poor amounts of gesture-plus-word utterances. ► Pointing and gesture-word combinations predict later language skills in preterms. ► A subgroup of at risk preterm children shows an enduring use of gestures.