title: Speech disorders in Israeli Arab children.
abstract: The aim of this work was to study the frequency of speech disorders in Israeli Arab children and its association with parental consanguinity. A questionnaire was sent to the parents of 1,495 Arab children attending kindergarten and the first two grades of the seven primary schools in the town of Taibe. Eight-six percent (1,282 parents) responded. The answers to the questionnaire revealed that 25% of the children reportedly had a speech and language disorder. Of the children identified by their parents as having a speech disorder, 44 were selected randomly for examination by a speech specialist. The disorders noted in this subgroup included errors in articulation (48.0%), poor language (18%), poor voice quality (15.9%); stuttering (13.6%), and other problems (4.5%). Rates of affected children of consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages were 31% and 22.4%, respectively (p < 0.01). We conclude that speech disorders are an important problem among Israeli Arab schoolchildren. More comprehensive programs are needed to facilitate diagnosis and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Bridge to Peace Pediatric Community Center, Taibe, Israel.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaber
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nahmani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shohat
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D003241:Consanguinity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007557:Israel; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health