Status: 09/22/2022 1:37 p.m
According to the health insurance company KKH, more children and young people are struggling with speech disorders than ten years ago. In addition to the consequences of the corona pandemic, other reasons can also be considered as explanations.
According to a study, the number of children and young people in Germany affected by speech disorders has increased. Between 2019 and 2021 alone, the number of affected six to 18 year olds grew by around nine percent, and among 15 to 18 year olds by almost 21 percent.
58 percent more cases than in 2011
This emerges from data from the commercial health insurance fund (KKH) in Hanover. In a ten-year comparison since 2011, the number of those affected has increased by a total of 58 percent – an increase of 59.4 percent was registered for girls and 56.7 percent for boys.
The KKH had collected anonymous data from its approximately 1.6 million insured persons between the ages of six and 18 with the corresponding diagnosis from 2011 and 2021.
Six to ten year olds are particularly affected today
Speech and language disorders in children and adolescents include a limited vocabulary, difficulties in articulating sounds or forming sentences, or poor grammar. According to the KKH, an average of 8.1 percent of children and adolescents were affected last year – after 5.2 percent ten years earlier. The proportion of children with speech disorders was highest in the age group of six to ten years at 16.0 percent.
One reason: The consequences of the corona pandemic
According to the health insurance company, the corona pandemic with all its restrictions has made it difficult for many children to develop language skills. Homeschooling and a lack of social contacts meant that many people missed direct contact with teachers and, above all, with their peers. Because daycare centers and schools were often closed, some language disorders also went undetected – closed speech therapy practices would have made the situation even more difficult.
In addition, there could be other causes, as Vijitha Sanjivkumar from the medical competence team of the health insurance company explains:
Organic causes such as hearing problems and genetic predisposition or excessive use of smartphones, PCs and televisions can also be the cause of language deficits.
Complex language acquisition was limited
The health insurance company also expects an increase in logopedic treatments for small children. Because of corona-related hygiene regulations such as protective masks or contact restrictions, “the complex language acquisition of today’s two- and three-year-olds through communicative experience with sound formation, reading lip movements or facial expressions was restricted,” said Sanjivkumar.
More young people are also affected
However, according to the KKH, the data also shows that language and speech cause problems for more older children and young people. The number of affected 11 to 14 year olds has doubled in the past ten years, and among 15 to 18 year olds it has even increased by 151 percent.
Speech development disorders are usually diagnosed by the pediatrician. Sanjivkumar advised parents:
Read to your child, play games with them and develop stories or rhymes together, have conversations and discuss with each other. When communicating, pay attention to and look at your child. Speaking out is also important.