Guidelines of the German society of phoniatrics and pediatric audiology on developmental speech and language disorders of children

Abstract

An undisturbed language acquisition is a basic precondition for normal child development. Developmental speech and language disorders are frequent: the prevalence of specific language impairment is 6-8% and additional comorbidities may occur. Universal speech/language screening programs in kindergarten age have become increasingly important, also in Germany. Since there is a considerable uncertainty in both diagnosis of developmental speech and language disorders and prescription of therapy, the revised AWMFguidelines of the German Society of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology (Neumann et al., 2008) are presented here to contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of developmental speech and language disorders, as well as their definition, diagnostic, and therapy.