Sociodemographic, Prenatal and Postnatal Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Speech and Language Disorders

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to identify risk factors for speech and language disorders by comparing the sociodemographic, prenatal, and postnatal characteristics of children and adolescents with speech and language disorders to those of healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted on a sample of 1.299 individuals aged 3-17 years, consisting of cases diagnosed with speech and language disorders and healthy controls, who applied to our clinic between 1January 2023, and 31 December 2023. In the case group, 76 children and adolescents, and in the control group, 43 children and adolescents met the inclusion criteria. The data including the sociodemographic, prenatal, and postnatal characteristics of these participants were analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of sociodemographic data. Prenatal factors showed a significantly higher frequency of maternal iron supplementation during pregnancy in the patient group (p=0.02). Postnatal factors showed a significantly higher frequency of preschool education attendance in the control group (p=0.012). Conclusion: Language and speech development is a process influenced by biological and environmental factors, starting in the womb and rapidly continuing during the early years of life. Early detection and intervention of factors that negatively affect this development are crucial. Our study demonstrates that preschool education is important for this development.

Keywords

• language disorders
• preschool education
• risk factors
• speech disorder