[Management of developmental speech-language disorders in children : Part 1: Diagnosis and underlying comorbid...

Compared to other countries, the prevalence of speech-language disorders among children and also the intervention frequency appear to be much higher in Germany. Since otorhinolaryngologists often initiate speech-language interventions, the first part of this review systematically outlines the guideline-conform diagnostic pathway from examination to therapeutic intervention. The process of first developing a suspected diagnosis which justifies speech-language tests is explained. Beyond this, the rational selection of a set of tests from all those available-some of which the otorhinolaryngologist can perform, some of which require referral-is discussed, as is how these results can be used to assess the severity of the disorder. A special focus of this paper is the differential diagnosis of underlying causes, e. g., hearing disorders and global developmental disorders. A complete set of tests permits a working diagnosis and ICD-10 classification of the case.