Speech and Language Therapy in Mental Health Care of Children. Part 1: the areas of research and practice.

OBJECTIVES

The article is the first part of a study aimed at characterizing speech-language therapy care in mental health care of children. It concerns the areas of research and practice.

METHODS

The research has an exploratory character. The secondary qualitative analysis of archive data collected from my SLT practice with preschool age children was used.

RESULTS

Preschool children experience a variety of speech, language and communication disorders associated with mental health problems. SLT needs may result from: mental disorders in various stages of their course, prodromal and subclinical states; psychological traits; family history of mental disorders; environmental conditions; migration; other medical conditions; using pharmacotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Conducting research on speech and language disorders in psychiatry is necessary, but at the same time difficult, especially in the case of children. Interference of developmental, pathological and environmental factors, mutual overlap of symptoms resulting from various conditions, and co-occurrence of disorders must be taken into account. Moreover, great caution should be exercised in interpreting the results of less advanced studies. The area of SLT research and practice is wide and diverse. It is defined by nosological and functional criteria. Cooperation between psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and speech-language therapists is needed, both from a research and practical perspective.