Prevalence of speech disorders among Kermanshah primary schoolchildren

Background: Speech is the most important aspect of development that related to central nervous system maturation in cognitive sensory motor domain. Disorders of speech may disrupt other aspects of development. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of speech disorders among primary schoolchildren in Kermanshah during 2008-9. Methods: Six hundred schoolchildren from three educational regions of the city were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling method. In an hour assessment session, an expert Speech-Language pathologist evaluated the spontaneous speech of children by phonetic test and specialist judgment. Results: 39.5% of cases were female and 60.5% male. Mean age of students was 9.12±1.52 years. 67 out of 600 studied schoolchildren (11.2 %) were diagnosed as speech disordered. Prevalence of speech disorders among boys and girls was 11 and 11.3 percent respectively. There was no significant difference in speech disorders prevalence according to age and sex.Conclusion: It’s concluded that prevalence of speech disorders among primary schoolchildren in Kermanshah was lower than similar reports in other studies.