Sumera Nawaz Malik, Sikandar Ghayas Khan, Ammara Nusrat.
Common Co-Morbidities Associated with Language Delay.
J Riphah Coll Rehab Sci Jan ;03(02):63-6.

Background: Language delay is a failure in children to develop language abilities on the usual developmental chart. Children are considered to have speech delay if their speech development is considerably below the norm for children of the same age. Objective: The objective of the study was to find the association between co-morbid conditions and language delay. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted through questionnaire using convenient sampling technique. Data was collected from parents and child. Data of 55 children between the ages of 2 to 6 years with language delay referred for a psychiatric in Mayo Hospital, Lahore were included. Results: The findings of this study showed high prevalence of language delay in males than females and significant co-morbidity associated with language delay are intellectual disability, Hearing Impairment and Global Developmental Delay. According to the results frequency distribution for gender of children is 82% were male and 18%were female. Language delay was more prevalent in children with intellectual Disability (33%), Global Developmental Delay (12.7%) and Hearing Impairment (12.7%). Other co-morbidities include Epilepsy (7.2%), Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (5.5), Autism (3.6%) and Physical Disability (3.6%). Conclusion: Exact cause of language delay is unknown but there are much co-morbidities associated with it. These co-morbidities have significant association with normal development. To avoid delay in normal development of language, it is important to consult pediatrician, neurologist, audiologist, psychologist, and speech and language pathologist on regular basis depending upon the type of co-morbidity.

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