Up to the close of this year, the Malaysian Association of Speech-Language and Hearing (MASH) recorded 1,881 new referrals of speech delays caused by the Covid 19 pandemic which ended in April 2022.

In the year 2023, there were 1,981 cases reported and although this figure is higher than the 897 cases reported in the year 2020, it is attributed to the pandemic exacerbating speech delays due to reduced social interactions.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey for year 2022 showed that 56,452 children, or 2.7 percent of Malaysia’s child population were diagnosed with speech delays, which is a sharp rise from the 1.7 percent reported in 2016.

Owing also to limited access to early intervention services, 7.4 percent of children were identified as having development delays such as autism, Down’s syndrome, hearing impairment and speech issues.

However, during the pandemic, teletherapy emerged as a valuable alternative allowing therapists to guide and instruct parents in integrating language and learning strategies into the daily routines of the affected children.

MASH emphasised that speech and language delays were caused by contributing factors such as parental stress and remote work which reduced quality time interaction with their children thus impacting their language development.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE