Communication disorders in children: a challenge for health care.

Abstract

Today's children will participate in a society whose economic basis will be information and communication and they must have optimal communication skills to be able to be functional optimally within the information society. Heretofore, in the United States, there has been no systematic attempt to diagnose and care for children with communication disorders. It is essential that the child be diagnosed early because there appears to be a critical period for language development. If interventions do not occur early, in the area of communication disorders, there is a high probability of significant morbidity because of impaired communication abilities. This morbidity can manifest itself in a social activity and loss of economic opportunity.