Children with cerebral palsy are
more likely to develop speech and language problems than their peers. In an
effort to identify those who may benefit from speech and language therapy to
boost communication abilities from an early age, Katherine Hustad and
colleagues examined the speech and language skills of 27 toddlers with CP aged
24 to 30 months. The aim of their study was to find out whether children as
young as two could be classified into groups on the basis of their speech and
language skills.
The children’s skills were
examined based on parent-child-interaction, parental questionnaires and a
language comprehension test. In particular, the authors looked at receptive and expressive
skills - reflected in e.g. number of words produced and average length of
utterances. Three groups could be identified:
1.Children who were not yet talking (44%). Children in this group had an active vocabulary of about three words and primarily used vocalisations to communicate.
2.Children who were emerging talkers (41%). Children in this group used on average 40 words and had begun to combine words.
3.Children who were established talkers (15%). Children in this group showed speech and language skills in line with age expectations.
Group membership was primarily
determined by the children’s vocabulary size and ability to combine words. By
contrast, receptive abilities did not turn out to be a good indicator for
speech and language development as results varied considerably across groups.
The study also found that the children’s speech and language abilities were not
related to gross motor function. This is important and shows that no conclusion
regarding communication skills should be drawn on the basis of gross motor abilities.
Overall, the study shows that speech and language delays in children with
cerebral palsy can be identified by 2 years of age.
Hustad, K., Allison, K., McFadd, E. & A. Riehle, K.
(2013). Speech and language development in 2-year-old children with cerebral
palsy. Developmental Neurorehabilitation,
Early Online.
