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

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.