J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2011 Feb;35(1):48-54.

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

• Kim SW
• Shin JB
• Bae MS
• Chung HJ
• Kim YK
• Song JH

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.

Keyword

Specific language impairment; Intellectual disability; Speech therapy

MeSH Terms

Child
Humans
Intellectual Disability
Intelligence
Language Development
Speech Therapy