Föreläsningar och seminarier Predisputationsseminarium: Ann Malmenholt

Abstract: To understand the core problems in children with speech and/or language disorder is crucial for selecting intervention approaches. Differential diagnosis of speech sound disorders (SSD) is challenging, and a cooccurring language disorder could be masked by severely disordered speech. Research on diagnostic criteria for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is ongoing. The clinical prevalence of isolated CAS is lower than for CAS associated with complex neurodevelopmental disorders, and there are children with complex neurodevelopmental disorder presenting with both CAS and cleft palate with/without cleft lip (CP±L). In addition, a few children with CP±L and suspected CAS have been reported, raising interest in the cooccurrence of CAS in children born with CP±L. 

The overall aim of the project was to explore speech and language in children with CAS and cleft palate at age 5 to broaden the knowledge of CAS and factors behind unfavorable speech outcome in children with CP±L. Specific study aims were to:

• survey Swedish SLPs’ knowledge about speech characteristics and other deficits considered as typical for children with suspected CAS (Study I)
• examine if orofacial function is impaired in children born with CP±L and could be related to speech outcome (Study II)
• evaluate a checklist for diagnosis of CAS, constructed for English-speaking children (Study III)
• study prevalence of typical CAS speech features in children with SSDs of different origins, looking for similarities and differences in speech feature profiles (Study III)
• study prevalence and the profile of cooccurring language disorder in children with SSDs of different origins (Study IV)