The influence of voice and speech disorders on the quality of life of school-age children

Quality of life is a construction used to measure an individual's perspective on their well-being. In modern research, voice and speech disorders have been recognized as indicators of impaired quality of life in children. The aim of this research is to analyze the characteristics of quality of life in children with voice and speech disorders and children of typical development of younger school age. The research assessed the social, emotional and functional aspects of children's quality of life. The research is anonymous, done on a sample of parents of children of younger school age. The examined sample included 100 parents of children of I (53%) and II (47%) grades of primary school. Respondents were divided into two groups, the experimental group (children who go to a speech therapist due to voice and speech pathology (M = 1.55, SD = 0.44)) and the control group (children of typical development (M = 0.57, SD = 0.47)). The Pediatric Voice Handicap Index - pVHI was used to assess the quality of life in children. One-factor multivariate ANOVA was used in statistical data processing. The results of this study show that children with voice and speech disorders have impaired quality of life compared to children of typical development (p <0.05). The social and functional use of speech is worse in children with voice and speech disorders, and the emotional discomfort associated with voice and speech in these children far exceeds the emotional discomfort in children of typical development. As we stated in our work, many studies have shown that voice and speech disorders impair the physical and mental health of children. Due to all the above, the assessment of the quality of life in children with voice and speech disorders is especially important for psychologists and speech therapists during adolescence, so that they can identify problems in a timely manner and take the necessary support measures.