[Communication and speech disorders and their relationship with psychic development and mental disorders in 8 year old children from the Lódź area].

AIM

The aim of the study was to analyze the occurrence of communication and speech disorders among 8-year-old children in Lódź. The comorbidity of these disorders with mental and somatic disorders was also analysed. We have also studied the correlation between the level of language development and the level of psychic development, and the existence and character of mental disorders.

METHOD

The study comprised 7881 children from Lódź, born in 1991. The design of the study was two-stage. Stage I consisted of a screening test, using the Questionnaire of Child-Environment Communication Development, which was sent to the parents of all children. On this basis a group of 58 children with communication disorders was identified, which were further evaluated in the stage II of the study. Stage II consisted of a psychiatric examination, Screening Logopedic Test acc.to Tarkowski, Child Developmental Questionnaire acc. to Rabe-Jabłońska and Gmitrowicz, somatic state evaluation and analysis of the available documentation.

RESULTS

In 0.81% of the children communication disorders were found. Speech disorders were present in all cases: in 2/3rds expressive language disorders or mixed receptive-expressive language disorders, in the remaining cases phonological disorders. Estimated frequency of occurrence of specific disorders in the studied population was as follows: specific developmental language disorders 2.9/1000, acquired aphasia with epilepsy 4/10000, autistic disorder 6.4/10000. Over one third of children with a verbal communication disorder suffered also from various neurological and developmental disorders; most of the children showed abnormal mental development (f = 0.86) and mental disorders (f = 0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

Poor language development correlated statistically significantly with mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorder and behaviour disorders, caused by brain damage or brain dysfunction. Children with a communication disorder who demonstrated normal language development suffered from social maladaptation or ADHD statistically significantly more frequently.