Health-related quality of life of children with specific language impairment aged 8-11.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in a clinical sample of children with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI), the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-five children, aged 8-11 years, filled out a generic HRQoL questionnaire, 17D, and another questionnaire about school and rehabilitation. The HRQoL comparison group was a sample of 244 typically developing schoolchildren. RESULTS: Response rate was 86%. Of the respondents, 80% were male. The total 17D score of the subjects did not differ from that of controls. The 17D profiles of the groups differed on several dimensions, but significant differences emerged only on the dimensions concerning speech, where the study group was worse off, and sleep, where the controls reported more problems. Respondents with low verbal IQ reported more distress. The vast majority of respondents were in special education or received extra educational support and one-third were still having speech therapy. CONCLUSION: In this clinical sample, despite the persisting need for extra support, the overall well-being of children with SLI was at age level. Still, some differences existed, and HRQoL measurement may prove a good tool for professionals to find those children with SLI at risk for diminished well-being and for later problems.

Health-related quality of life of adolescents with childhood diagnosis of specific language impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adolescents with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI). METHODS: A clinical sample of 67 subjects with a childhood diagnosis of SLI, now aged 12-16, were asked to fill out the generic 16D HRQoL questionnaire. The comparison group comprised 235 typically developing peers. Another questionnaire gathered information about school and rehabilitation. RESULTS: Of the surveyed 73% answered; 77% were male. Total HRQoL score between subjects and controls did not differ. The group profiles had some differences. The SLI group experienced more problems in the dimension of mental functioning (p=0.001), whereas the control group was worse off on the dimension vitality (p=0.003). In the SLI group, low vitality was related to low verbal IQ in childhood, and own perception of literacy problems. Long-term speech therapy was associated with problems in the dimension of speech. CONCLUSIONS: The overall HRQoL of adolescents with SLI was at age-level, but language-related problems seemed to lead to increased problems in mental functioning. Low vitality was more of a problem for the controls, but also for those SLI children who had inferior language performance. Adolescents' own perceptions of their life quality are of clinical importance, and 16D seems a usable tool to capture them.