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Early identification of children with communication disabilities--evaluation of a screening programme in a Swedish
M Magnusson1, F Rasmussen, C Sundelin
1Department of Paediatrics, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Insights
This study assessed an early screening program for communication disorders. While specific, the program identified children with communication issues and other disabilities by age 4.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Public Health Screening
Background:
- Early identification of communicative disturbances is crucial for child development.
- The effectiveness of screening programs in predicting long-term health status requires evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of an early screening program for communicative disturbances.
- To assess the program's relation to the child's overall health status at 4 years of age.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study design was employed.
- The study included 705 cases and 2451 controls.
Main Results:
- Children with communication disorders and other disabilities at age 4 had more frequent deviant screening results.
- The screening program demonstrated a sensitivity of 24.8%, specificity of 95.5%, and a positive predictive value of 61.2%.
Conclusions:
- The early screening program shows promise in identifying children at risk for communicative disturbances.
- High specificity suggests the program effectively identifies children without disorders, but sensitivity indicates potential for missed cases.
Objective:
The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of an early screening programme for communicative disturbances in relation to the health status of the child at the age of 4 years.
Materials And Methods:
A case-control study including 705 cases and 2451 controls was performed.
Results:
Cases with communication disorders as well as other types of disabilities at 4 years of age showed a higher frequency of deviant screening results on each screening occasion. The sensitivity for the screening programme amounted to 24.8%, the specificity was 95.5% and the positive predictive value was 61.2%.