Neurological evaluation of children followed up for speech retardation

Abstract Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the neurological aspects of patients who presented to the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic with the complaint of speech retardation. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the data of the patients who underwent treatment for speech retardation between February-October 2022 at the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic of Dr. Ali Kemal Belviranlı Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital and Konya City Hospital. Results: The study included 149 patients with a mean age of 41.1+16.2 months, 74.5% of the patients were male. It was revealed that 8.7% of the children had a history of prematurity, 16.1% had a family member with speech retardation. In electroencephalography, epileptic disorders were found in 2.6% of the patients, psychiatric disorders (8.7% autism) in 16.7%, hearing loss in 0.7%, developmental retardation in the isolated language area in 75.8%, and global development retardation in 24.2%. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed an abnormality of 3.3%. Furthermore, 52.3% of our patients were found to be deficient in stimuli, while 59.7% used intensive media. Conclusions: In terms of early diagnosis and treatment of speech retardation and accompanying pathologies, the diagnostic approach in children brought in due to speech retardation is critical.