title: CDC Kerala 7: Effect of early language intervention among children 0-3 y with speech and language delay.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of systematic clinic and home based early language intervention program in children reporting to the early language intervention clinic with full partnership of specially trained developmental therapist and the parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  All babies between 0 and 3 y referred to Child Development Centre (CDC) Kerala for suspected speech/language delay were assessed and those without hearing impairment were screened first using Language Evaluation Scale Trivandrum (LEST) and assessed in detail using Receptive Expressive Emergent Language Scale (REELS). Those having language delay are enrolled into the early language intervention program for a period of 6 mo, 1 h at the CDC clinic once every month followed by home stimulation for rest of the month by the mother trained at CDC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the total 455 children between 0 and 3 y, who successfully completed 6 mo intervention, the mean pre and post intervention language quotient (LQ) were 60.79 and 70.62 respectively and the observed 9.83 increase was statistically significant. The developmental diagnosis included developmental delay (62.4%), global developmental delay (18.5%), Trisomy and other chromosomal abnormalities (10.5%), microcephaly and other brain problems (9.9%), misarticulation (8.4%), autistic features (5.3%) and cleft palate and lip (3.3%) in the descending order.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study among 455 children between 0 and 3 y without hearing impairment, who successfully completed 6 mo early language intervention, the mean pre and post intervention LQ were 60.79 and 70.62 respectively and the observed 9.83 increase was statistically significant.
authors.affiliation: Child Development Centre, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, 695011, Kerala, India, cdcmkc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M K C
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Mini
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Leena
authors.forename: Babu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Harikumaran Nair
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhaskaran
authors.forename: Paul Swamidhas Sudhakar
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*