Publication:

Profile of children presenting with speech delay without any specific diagnosis

Background Speech delay, characterized by a child’s failure to develop age-appropriate language skills, is a major concern in paediatric healthcare. Speech delay can be attributed to underlying conditions such as hearing impairment, neurological disorders, or genetic syndromes. While, a considerable proportion of cases remain without a clear aetiology. Psychological deprivation, inadequate stimulation, seizure disorders, intellectual disability, and excessive screen time may predispose children to speech delay. The repercussions of speech delay, including poor academic achievement, social anxiety, and stress, may negatively impact a child’s future.

Methods A record-based cross-sectional study was conducted among children who attended therapy at the Regional Early Intervention Centre (REIC), Medical College, Kottayam. With the assistance of a speech therapist employed at the centre, a semi-structured proforma based on the receptive-expressive emergent language scale (REELS) was prepared. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.0.

Results The mean age of the study participants was 4.06±2.14 years. The majority of children (39.3%) belonged to 3-5-year age group and were males (75.3%). Speech delay alone was the presenting complaint in 73.5% of children. Speech delay was observed in 77% of children with excessive screen time and in 87.5% of children with feeding problems, with these associations being statistically significant (p<0.05).

Conclusions Speech delay without any specific diagnosis was observed in 63% of children. A statistically significant association was found between speech delay and a history of feeding problems and excessive screen time.