Covid impacts children’s speech and language development

Last month, the Oxford Mail revealed that the wait for an autism diagnosis is ‘through the roof’ due to the impact of the pandemic.

Speech and language development is seen as another area which has struggled, as a result of the changing way in which schools and services have operated.

Read again: Autism diagnosis waiting time ‘through the roof’ following Covid

Speech and language therapist Nicola Lathey is the founder of Oxford-based The Owl Centre, whose therapy provides treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing.

She said: “The increase in waiting time has gone up massively during the pandemic, there’s an increase in language delay and stammering.

“It’s been a really difficult time for children to receive the intervention they need.

“Fundamentally, aside from access, there’s an increase in language delay in four-to-five-year-olds.

“The pandemic has increased anxiety, which has had an impact on speech and language.”

File image of Nicola Lathey, founder of Oxford-based The Owl Centre. Picture: Richard Cave

Mrs Lathey added that children will have had different experiences during the pandemic, which will have altered development between youngsters.

“Some children will have had more access to their parents but others may have had less,” she said.

“Screen time could potentially have increased with parents working from home, and social interactions with grandparents limited.

“In schools, children have been socially distanced and there was a level of anxiety in the air, which leads to speech problems.

“Lots of the work was online so there’s less opportunity to do things in person, reducing children’s ability and the language they use.

“With things being different in schools, some children have really struggled with that loss of routine.”

Read also: Primary school pupil eager to get Covid vaccine to protect dad

Dee Nic Sitric, lead consultant at Oxfordshire-based Autism Champions, said: “When we’re talking speech and language, it’s also about how people communicate and how they’re interacting with their environment.

“Schools don’t have the capacity or expertise to help every child, there’s never been enough of that.

“Over the course of the pandemic, children didn’t get the same sort of experiences, including access to services.

“Because of the last couple of years, they haven’t been picked up and children’s needs haven’t been identified.

“Services have had to go virtual but the face to face element which makes such a difference hasn’t been able to happen.

“It feels like there’s a constant pause button on people’s lives.

“It varies on how the family feels supported, lots of families don’t know what to do or where to turn.”

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