Speech & Language Delay (policy currently under review)
The UK NSC policy on Speech and language delay screening in children
More Information
While all children reach developmental milestones on their own schedules, there are times when a child seems to lag far enough behind the norms to warrant a thorough evaluation. Delays in speech and language are fairly common amongst young children. Many children improve without intervention but early intervention can help in some cases.
» Read more about speech and language delay on the Kids Development website
Policy Position
Screening for speech and language delay should not be offered.
This policy is currently being reviewed as part of the UK NSC's regular review cycle of all policies.
The review process began in Jan 2010 and is estimated to be completed by Mar 2012.
Evidence Supporting the Policy
The UK NSC based their decision on an HTA report on screening for speech and language delay, and the Child Health Sub-Group (see below) recommendations.
Health Technology Assessment 1998; vol 2, no. 9: "Screening for speech and language delay: a systematic review of the literature"
Stakeholders
Institute of Child Health
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
The stakeholder groups will be involved when the policy is next reviewed. If you think your organisation should be added, please contact us.
Related documents
Knowledge update on screening for speech and language delay (2011) (PDF document, 163KB, 13/09/11)Speech & Lang delay review against NSC Criteria (PDF document, 36KB, 25/08/09)
