Effects of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia on Token Test performance of six-year-old children.

Token Test (TT) performance was investigated of 100 6-yr-old children who had had hyperbilirubinemia as infants. Half these Ss had been given phototherapy for that condition, half had not. Group data revealed that both subgroups performed significantly below the normed average on those sections of the TT that place the heaviest load on short-term auditory verbal memory. Ss who had not been given phototherapy outperformed those who had been given the light treatment. The TT even in abbreviated form (only 15 commands) was a useful tool in identifying short-term memory difficulties in this population. Poor short-term memory performance may predispose these children to difficulties in listening comprehension later in life.