Referral of Language Impairment Patients to Different Medical Specialties. Clinical Charts Review. Córdoba, from 2018 to 2019.

Abstract

Children development is a continuum of changes in motor, cognitive, psychosocial and linguistic domains. In language impaired patients cognitive skills other than language might also be affected. Therefore, the multidisciplinary approach is needed both for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.

The goals of this study were to describe the source discipline of the referrals recieved and identify the realization of the referrals made by the Speech and Language Therapists at the Departamento Raquel Maurette.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using the clinical charts of language impaired children aged 3-8-year-old who assisted language treatment for at least 3 months on a regular basis (n = 92). The study variables were the source discipline of the referrals recieved and the realization of the referrals made. The study of the last variable mentioned considered both the realization and the realization time.

Thirty-nine percent of the recieved referrals came from teachers, 29% from pediatricians and 9% from other non-medial specialties. Regarding the realization of the referrals done by the Speech and Language Therapists, 46,15% of the referrals to neurology, 50% to psychology, 33,33% to psychomotor education, 50% to psychopedagogy, 38,46% otorhinolaryngology and 60% to odontology did not materialise. Concerning the realization time, during the first 4 months were materialised the 85,71% of the referrals to neurology, 77,77% to psychology, 50% to psychomotor education, 83,33% to psychopedagogy and 100% to otorhinolaryngology and odontology; during the 4-8 months was materialised the 14,28% of the referrals to neurology; and during the 8-12 months were materialised the 22,22% of referrals to psychology, 50% to psychomotor education and 16,66% to psychopedagogy.

The highest amount of referrals come from educational disciplines and, within the health disciplines, from pediatrics. In this sense, teachers and pediatricians are the main professionals who detect the need to consult a Speech and Language Therapist and allow an early intervention. Future research must assess the impact that the non-realization of referrals requested by the therapists has on the diagnosis and therapy.