Effects of Speech Therapy in Children with Specific Language Impairment and Mild Intellectual Disability.

, Kim, Seong Woo; , Shin, Jung Bin; , Bae, Myoung Sik; , Chung, Hee Jung; , Kim, Young Ki; , Song, Jeong Hee

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine 2011;35(1):48-54.

Kim, Seong Woo , Shin, Jung Bin , Bae, Myoung Sik , Chung, Hee Jung , Kim, Young Ki , Song, Jeong Hee

¹Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Health Insurance Corporation Il-San Hospital, Goyang 410-719, Korea. curehand95@naver.com
²Department of Pediatrics, National Health Insurance Corporation Il-San Hospital, Goyang 410-719, Korea.
³Department of Psychiatry, National Health Insurance Corporation Il-San Hospital, Goyang 410-719, Korea.

Abstract

Objective
To analyze the effects of speech therapy between children with specific language impairment (SLI) and mild intellectual disability (ID). Method Fourteen children with SLI and thirteen children with mild ID who had received speech therapy for more than 1 year were enrolled. The language function and cognitive function of all subjects were assessed before and after speech therapy.
Results
Improvement of receptive and expressive language development were shown in 78.5% and 71.4% of children with SLI, respectively. However improvement of receptive and expressive language development was shown in only 30.7% of children with ID. Improvement of verbal intelligence which had appeared in the SLI group was not shown in the ID group. Conclusion Effects of speech therapy were different in children with SLI and mild ID and more favorable outcomes were demonstrated in children with SLI.

Key Words: Specific language impairment, Intellectual disability, Speech therapy