Çelen Yoldaş Tuba
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
J Paediatr Child Health. 2025 Apr;61(4):617-622. doi: 10.1111/jpc.16796. Epub 2025 Jan 28.
Global threats to child health and well-being, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, have put child development at grave risk. This study aimed to observe the behavioural changes of children with isolated language delays from a paediatric outpatient clinic as a community sample during the pandemic with a 1-year follow-up.
Patients admitted to the paediatrics outpatient clinic due to isolated language delays were included in the study. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire and Child Behaviour Checklist-1½-5 were implemented at baseline and 1 year later. All families were provided with information on developmental supportive strategies and called at 3-month intervals for follow-up.
Eighty-three children were initially included in this prospective study and completed with a 66.3% retention rate after 1 year. The mean initial age of the children was 30 ± 5.1 months. Internalising behaviour problems were high enough for concern at the baseline and all behavioural problem scores decreased after 1 year (p < 0.001). The initial proportion of children with borderline or clinical internalising problems also decreased from 69.1% to 5.5% after 1 year, and most children had normal language development.
Late talkers experienced some behavioural problems during the pandemic, and the language and behaviour outcomes of these children who attended the paediatric clinic were better after the 1-year follow-up, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The management of language delays in young children in crisis should include providing families with developmental support strategies consistently through the paediatric healthcare system to optimise child developmental and behavioural functioning.
全球对儿童健康和福祉的威胁，再加上新冠疫情，使儿童发育面临严重风险。本研究旨在观察一家儿科门诊中患有孤立语言发育迟缓的儿童作为社区样本在疫情期间的行为变化，并进行为期1年的随访。
纳入因孤立语言发育迟缓而入住儿科门诊的患者。在基线时和1年后实施年龄与发育进程问卷及儿童行为清单（1.5 - 5岁版）。向所有家庭提供发育支持策略信息，并每隔3个月进行随访。
83名儿童最初纳入这项前瞻性研究，1年后的保留率为66.3%。儿童的平均初始年龄为30 ± 5.1个月。内化行为问题在基线时高到令人担忧，1年后所有行为问题得分均下降（p < 0.001）。有临界或临床内化问题的儿童初始比例在1年后也从69.1%降至5.5%，且大多数儿童语言发育正常。
在疫情期间，说话晚的儿童出现了一些行为问题，即使在新冠疫情期间，经过1年随访后，这些到儿科门诊就诊的儿童的语言和行为结果更好。处于危机中的幼儿语言发育迟缓管理应包括通过儿科医疗系统持续为家庭提供发育支持策略，以优化儿童发育和行为功能。
