ETIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF CHILDREN WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DELAY IN THE AGE GROUP OF 0-6 YEARS

Poornachand. V; Babu George; Deepa Bhaskaran

Volume : VIII, Issue : XII, December - 2018

ETIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF CHILDREN WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DELAY IN THE AGE GROUP OF 0-6 YEARS

Poornachand. V, Babu George, Deepa Bhaskaran

Abstract :

Speech and language development is a useful indicator of child’s development and cognitive ability. Delay in language development is an early and most sensitive indicator of major neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and specific learning disorders. Disorders with speech and language delay disrupt child’s ability to communicate. It prevents child’s participation in family and community and can impede school achievement. Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Speech Evaluation Clinic, Child Development center, Thiruvananthapuram on a sample 110 consecutive children. 73.11% of children had receptive language delay, 75.26% had expressive language delay and 74.19% had combined language delay. Global developmental delay was the leading cause which was seen in 40% of children, followed by isolated speech delay and autism spectrum disorder in 18.18% each, while 14.54% of children had normal speech and language development.