Educational outcomes associated with persistent speech disorder.
Yvonne Wren, Emma Pagnamenta, Tim J Peters and 4 others
PMID 33533175WHAT IT FOUND
Children with persistent speech disorder at age 8 were more likely to underachieve in English at ages 10-11 and 13-14, even after accounting for IQ.
They were also significantly more likely to be identified as having special educational needs.
Key findings
01Children with persistent speech disorder were more likely to underachieve in English at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 compared to controls.
02Children with persistent speech disorder were four times more likely to be labelled with communication and interaction needs after full adjustment.
03Associations with underachievement in mathematics and science were not significant after adjusting for IQ.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size of children with PSD was comparatively small, particularly for Key Stage 2 data. The study excluded children whose speech errors were limited to common clinical distortions, so findings may not apply to this broader group. Verbal IQ was used as a proxy for oral language skills, which may not capture all nuances of language impairment. The study did not analyse associations with specific types of speech errors.
Declared interests
Funded by the Medical Research Council. No other conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that persistent speech disorder causes underachievement in mathematics or science. These associations disappeared once IQ was taken into account, suggesting that general cognitive ability, rather than the speech disorder itself, explains the variance in these subjects.