Linguistic profile of children with language and speech disorders and family participation in the therapeutic process: an integrative literature review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the linguistic profile (linguistic symptoms and risk factors) of children with communication, language, and speech disorders and verify their family’s participation in the therapeutic process. Methods: an integrative literature review including studies on linguistic symptoms of children with developmental language disorder (DLD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and phonological disorders (PD), published in Portuguese in the last 10 years (2012 to 2022) in the PubMed, SciELO, and VHL databases. Literature Review: 24 studies were included, according to the eligibility criteria, the children having different linguistic symptoms. In PD, there were more phonological processes, slower speech, and difficulties in auditory perception and morphosyntactic and semantic development. In DLD, there were changes in nominal morphology, morphosyntactic comprehension, greater use of intransitive verbs, omission of verb objects, and difficulties in solving conflicts. In ASD, there were difficulties in social interaction, imitation, prosodic changes, and decreased responsiveness. The main risk factor was prematurity, and the family was considered crucial as a support network in the therapeutic process. The family’s attitudes were facilitators or barriers to the patients’ improvement, depending on how they responded to the therapists’ instructions. Conclusion: the linguistic profile depends on the various language/speech disorders. Each child’s singularities must be considered, and the family’s participation is crucial to the therapeutic process.