Nonspeaking children in schools for children with severe mental disabilities in the greater Pretoria area: implications for speech-language therapists.

The aim of this study was to describe children enrolled in registered schools for children with severe mental disabilities in the greater Pretoria area in order to compile a profile of nonspeaking children. Emphasis was placed on the prevalence of nonspeaking children as well as on their functioning in different skill areas in order to assess the need for service delivery. Two questionnaires were developed; the first for obtaining biographical data from teachers; the second for obtaining information on the communication and related abilities of children between 3-12 years. The particular teachers completed the questionnaires in conjunction with fieldworkers. Results indicated a high prevalence (38%) of nonspeaking children in schools for children with severe mental disabilities in the Pretoria area and also indicated that they were a heterogeneous group regarding communication and related abilities. This survey was the first step in determining prevalence and describing nonspeaking children in schools for children with severe mental disabilities in South Africa. Results also indicated that these children are in great need of additional service delivery with special reference to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategy implementation.