Language Disorders in a Child Psychiatric Center: Demographic Characteristics and Comorbidity

Abstract

In this study demographic variables and comorbidity were registered in a group of children and adolescents with language disorders, diagnosed in accordance with ICD-10. The subjects were drawn from 1151 consecutively admitted psychiatric patients (0-17 years) in a 5-year period. One hundred and sixteen patients had language disorders (10%), and 73% were boys. The mean age was 8.8 years (SD, 3.9) for boys and 9.2 years (SD, 3.9) for girls. Twenty-seven per cent had expressive language disorders, 47% receptive language disorders, and 26% mixed specific developmental disorders (inclusive language disorder). The prevalence of previously unsuspected language disorders was 27%. Eighty-seven (75%) of the children and adolescents with language disorders could furthermore be psychiatrically diagnosed in accordance with eight main categories of ICD-10. Language disorders were most often found to be comorbid with conduct disorders, and the comorbidity was most frequent in the adolescent group. Boys had significantly more conduct disorders than girls, and girls had significantly more emotional disorders than boys. The present findings have clear implications for the psychiatric service to children, adolescents, and their families, since both assessment and treatment are predominantly language-based activities. More careful attention must be paid to screening children for language disorders and to helping parents, teachers, and child care workers understand how language disabilities impact on communication and behavior.

Key Words:

• Adolescents
• Children
• Language disorders
• Psychiatric disorders