In 2019, nearly one in ten minors consulted a speech therapist

2024-01-26 09:20:00

A report from the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) reveals that 1.25 million children or adolescents under the age of 18 consulted a city speech therapist during the year 2019. Or almost 9% of all minors. “In 2019, in France (excluding Mayotte), nearly 1,250,000 children or adolescents under 18 years old consulted a speech therapist at least once (i.e. nearly 9% of the age group), for more than 21 million consultations during the year,” details the report.

In total, eight categories of speech therapy procedures were distinguished in this study. The researchers found that the reasons for consultation were different depending on the age and sex of the children. Boys consult more than girls and carry out a younger consultation.

What are the reasons for consultation?

According to the DREES, the oral language pathologies remain the most common reason (43%) ahead of written language pathologies (37%). For children attending primary school, it is more common to consult for logical-mathematical disorders. It concerns a little more than 4% of consultations for children aged 6 to 10 years.

“Adolescents consult more to graphics and written language pathologies. Among young people aged 11 to 17 who consulted a speech therapist at least once in 2019, 57% have as their main reason for recourse a pathology of graphics and written language such as dyslexia or dysorthography,” report the authors of this study. Less than 13% of adolescents in care are in care for oral language pathologies. Logical-mathematical disorders as the main reason for consultation increases at middle and high school age and concerns nearly 10% of adolescents who seek help from a speech therapist.

The authors of this report noticed that girls aged 6 to 10 consulted more for logical-mathematical disorders than boys. The latter are more affected by problems related to stutteringdysphasia.

In France, the average density of speech therapists is 135 per 100,000 minors but this rate is very heterogeneous from one department to another. “In metropolitan France, it varies from 40 speech therapists per 100,000 children in Cantal to 255 professionals in Hérault and 228 in Paris,” illustrates the report. Réunion displays a rate higher than the national average with a density of 190 speech therapists per 100,000. Conversely, the department of Guyana has a significant deficit with a density of 19 per 100,000. This is in Meurthe-et- Moselle, in the Rhône and in the North that young people most often use the speech therapist with rates higher than 120 per 1,000 young people. The lowest recourses are observed in Seine-Saint-Denis, Cher and Deux-Sèvres with rates below 40 per 1,000 young people.

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