Background
Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child has difficulty in producing or understanding spoken language for no apparent reason. In other words, these children present with a developmental language impairment in the absence of mental retardation, sensory disorders, serious emotional or physiological problems, or environmental deprivation. About 7% of children exhibit significant difficulties in receptive and/or expressive language.
Method
A case-control study was conducted on 50 children with a mean age of 8.24 years, of both sexes, allocated into two groups (n=25): SLI children (study group) and healthy children (control group). The study was carried out at the Audio-Vestibular Medicine Unit in Zagazig University Hospitals. All participants underwent a language test (receptive, expressive, and total language items), an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test, and an audiological evaluation consisting of P300 amplitude and latency evaluations.
Results
Our results showed a highly significant difference in P300 latency between both groups, with a non-significant difference concerning P300 amplitude. The study group had substantially lower mean receptive, expressive, and total language ages Vs control group. A significant negative correlation was found between P300 latency in both ears and IQ or language age parameters, however, a non-significant positive correlation was detected between P300 amplitude with IQ or language age (P > 0.05).
Conclusion
P300 latency is significantly higher in the SLI group, hence it may be regarded as an effectively diagnostic tool for the early assessment of auditory processing dysfunction in children suffering from SLI.