Associated handicaps in children with hearing loss

In the differential diagnosis as well as in the rehabilitation of hearing impaired children other disorders affecting language aquisition and speech development need to be taken into account. The rehabilitation programme is highly dependent on the early diagnosis of these additional disorders such as dysphasia, mental retardation of various degrees, cognitive disorders such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, dyspractic and dysarthric disorders of speech production, cleft palate and other anomalies of articulatory organs, autism and other abnormal features of psychic and personality development. In addition children with multiple disorders like malformations, visual disorders, epilepsy, CP and other diseases and handicaps, even though they may not influence language and speech development directly, may still be deprived of possibilities to aquire adequate verbal stimulation. The paper presents a material of 200 children whose hearing loss was diagnosed at the preschool age. Major associated handicaps were found in 35.5% of cases and in 26% they were complicating rehabilitation and development of the child. The frequency of associated disorders and their effect on language and speech development, learning ability and social development is being more closely analysed and discussed.