[Management of developmental speech-language disorders in children : Part 1: Diagnosis and underlying comorbid diseases]

A Research on Developmental Characteristics of Children With Language Delay in Zhejiang Province, China

Study Design: We used Sign-significant relations (S-S) to assess the developmental characteristics of 1- to 4-year-old children with language delays in Zhejiang Province and to provide scientific basis for early clinical detection and comprehensive intervention. Methods: A total of 1,113 children among the ages of 1 and 4 who complained of poor language skills were assessed in language competence using S-S. These children diagnosed with language delays were divided into six groups, with each group having an age difference of 6 months. The developmental characteristics of each group were described and analyzed. Results: (1) Children from the age of 18 to 36 months were most likely to be affected by language problems, while boys were more susceptible than girls in each group. (2) There was no significant difference in the proportion of children with poor communication attitude among the groups. (3) The older the group, the higher the proportion of basic learning ability abnormality. The cutoff age for qualitative leap in the proportion of basic learning abilities was 2 years old. (4) With the increase of age, the proportion of abnormal language comprehension in each group increased gradually. The cutoff age for qualitative leap in the proportion of language comprehension was 1.5 and 2 years old. Conclusion: Language delays usually occur in children around the age of two, and as the children get older, in addition to expression of language abilities, they are more likely to have abnormal language comprehensive abilities and abnormal basic learning abilities. Based on the clinical research, we must take seriously the early screenings for this age group and conduct intervention training as soon as possible.

[Management of developmental speech-language disorders in children : Part 2: Intervention and remediation]

In the first part of this seminar paper, speech-language development tests were presented and the importance of the differential diagnosis of the underlying causes of the diagnosed language development disorder was discussed. The second part focuses on counseling and training of the parents, as well as the different treatment methods used for speech-language therapy for affected children in out- and inpatient settings. These procedures should be applied according to the individual developmental age. The official guidelines are to be respected, especially for medical speech-language therapy. Generally underestimated issues are risks and side effects of language and speech therapy, which obviously do exist, e. g., as induction of consciousness of the disorder in the treated child.