Prevention of Developmental Disorders of Speech and Language

Abstract

Children acquire language inherently from a strong genetic determination. The extent and quality to which they develop language, however, depend on both environmental input—from parent-child interaction, early literacy, a language-stimulating familial and social surrounding—and genome-environment interplay. A language-stimulating environment with sufficient verbal input helps to prevent developmental disorders of speech and language (DDSL) and their adverse social, emotional and educational impact on children’s development. Furthermore, the early identification of risk factors of DDSL and first symptoms is desirable. From the end of the second year of life on, valid and reliable assessment instruments are available, particularly parent questionnaires, which detect children at risk for developing DDSL. For later ages mass screenings or screenings for children at risk, or for those suspected, of having a DDSL are possible. Mass screenings face methodological problems but are possible if they aim to identify DDSL in general, including comorbidities or any developmental language abnormalities. If there is a suspicion of a language abnormality, testing for a hearing loss is recommended. Counselling of parents in cases of a familial history of DDSL, a potentially language-relevant disease of their child or a risk for heritable language-relevant diseases of their offspring, may be useful to prevent or early identify a DDSL.

This chapter outlines the age-dependent options for early identification of both DDSL and general language abnormalities in order to enable intervention and parent counselling at early stages. Furthermore, it describes evidence-based interventions that support child language development, parenting skills and language-stimulating child-parent or child-caregiver interaction.