Characteristics of childhood speech sound disorders at our hospital

Abstract

A retrospective study was conducted on 66 patients who visited our otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinic with speech sound disorder (SSD) as their primary complaint. We catalogued the types of SSDs and the specific error sounds for each patient. These patients were categorized into 4 groups: functional SSD, organic SSD, functional SSD with developmental disorder, and organic SSD with developmental disorder. We examined the characteristics of SSDs in each group and the factors contributing to their persistence. The findings revealed that substitution errors were most prevalent among the SSDs addressed through intervention, and there was no significant variation in SSD type or error sounds across the functional, organic, and developmental disorder groups. The intervention duration tended to be longer in groups with developmental disorders, and patients in the developmental disorder groups were older at their initial visit relative to those in the functional or organic SSD groups. These results indicate that the patterns of SSD errors have not significantly changed over the past decade and that interventions are often extended for those with developmental disorders. Improvements in facilities for continuous postschool articulation training are recommended.