A Cross Sectional Descriptive Research on Prevalence of CommunicationDisorders in Morocco through Speech-Language Therapist Survey

Abstract

Background: Although communication disorder among the Moroccan population is prevalent, information readily available on this issue is scarce. National statistical information is the official authority that estimates the magnitude of this disorder. With the help of an online survey among the Speech-Language therapist (SLT) in 15 major cities of the kingdom of Morocco, the present study aims at estimating the prevalence of communication disorders among Moroccan population. The study is particularly keen in estimating the factors like age of the affected population and the tools the language therapists are using in addressing the issue. On analyzing the data, the study concludes with the outcome that speech disorders are top in the list of communication disorders and there must be early screening in detecting the issue to treat it effectively. The study also feels the need to apply appropriate tools in addressing the issue that suits the socio-cultural context of Morocco Material and Methods: A questionnaire based online survey was conducted among a fairly representative sample of Speech-Language therapist (SLT) covering 15 major cities of the kingdom of Morocco. Results: The questionnaires were completed by 68SLTs. Within the studied sample, 53.8% show oral communication disorders; 16.7% have written communication disorders, 11.2% show disabilities (deafness, autism, mental disability and other Rare Diseases), 10.5% have Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) disorders, and the rest (7.8%) has neurological disorders. It is estimated that 5.62% of the Moroccan population are affected with speech disorders, 1.74% are unable to communicate in writing, 1.17% are disabled, 1.09% are affected with ENT disorders, and 0.81% have neurological disorders. Thus, in this study, we found that the estimated prevalence of communication disorders were 10.43% for overall the population, among them speech disorder found to be very prominent. Conclusion: In the selected sample, we found that oral language disorders are more prevalent than the other kinds of communication disorders. And the prevalence of delayed language is higher than the other kinds of oral language disorders.