What an Otolaryngologist Should Know About Evaluation of a Child Referred for Delay in Speech Development

Abstract

Speech delay can be the manifestation of a spectrum of disorders affecting the language comprehension and/or speech production pathways, ranging from disorders involving global developmental limitations to motor dysfunction to hearing loss. Determining the cause of a child's delay in speech production is a time-sensitive issue because a child loses valuable opportunities in intellectual development if his or her communication defect is not addressed and ameliorated with treatment. Knowing several key items about each disorder can help otolaryngologists direct families to the correct health care provider to maximize the child's learning potential and intellectual growth curve.

Hearing Loss in Children with Craniofacial Microsomia

“…Hearing status plays a critical role in social, language, and cognitive development as well as academic achievement (Tonn and Grundfast, 2014). Furthermore, early identification and intervention for infants with hearing loss optimizes their language development (Downs and Yoshinaga-Itano, 1999).…”

Das Münsteraner Konzept zur Therapie der ektodermalen Dysplasien im Kontext der wissenschaftlichen Literatur

“…Auch bei der Sprach-/Sprechentwicklung gilt es zunächst die Terminologie zu beachten [12]. Die Sprachentwicklung bezieht sich auf den Erwerb von Regeln des Lautsystems, des Wortschatzes, der Grammatik und der Textkompetenz.…”

“…Den Meilensteinen für die Entwicklung von Sprache und Sprechen bei Kindern [12] ist zu entnehmen, dass ein neun Monate altes Kind mit durchgebrochenen mittleren Milchinzisivi bereits unreflektiert die Worte "Mama" oder "Papa" aussprechen kann. Drei Monate später können über 90 % der Kinder bereits ein Wort sagen und nach weiteren 3 Monaten schon 3 Wörter [12]. Hieraus ist zu folgern, dass die Sprachentwicklung ( = kognitive Leistung) unabhängig vom Zahnbestand verläuft.…”

Correlations Among Clinical Phenotypes, Radiological Examination Indexes, and Hearing Status in Congenital Microtia

“…It is observed that microtia with different phenotypes and malformations often show different degrees of hearing loss (HL). Hearing status plays a critical role in infants’ early language development, cognitive development, and later academic and social achievements 4 . In addition, studies have demonstrated that children with unilateral HL (UHL) experience a higher degree of fatigue compared with children with normal hearing 1,5 .…”

“…Hearing status plays a critical role in infants' early language development, cognitive development, and later academic and social achievements. 4 In addition, studies have demonstrated that children with unilateral HL (UHL) experience a higher degree of fatigue compared with children with normal hearing. 1,5 Therefore, early hearing assessment and treatment for such children are essential and should not be disregarded.…”