Speech development in children with sequelae of obstetrics palsy

BACKGROUND: Obstetrics plexus occurs in 0.44 cases per 1000 newborns. Moreover, 70%92% of the patients have mild injuries that spontaneously recover within 2 months after delivery, and the remaining patients have secondary deformities of the limbs, leading to motor disorders of varying severities. Studies have reported that the limited or absence of hand motor functions can lead to cognitive deficits and speech underdevelopment. 
AIM: To study the features of speech development in children with obstetrics palsy. 
MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 2020 to 2021, we performed speech examination of 33 children with obstetrics palsy from the age of 315 (average age, 8.10 3.71) years. All patients were divided into four groups: group 1 (34 years, n = 6), group 2 (56 years, n = 10), group 3 (710 years, n = 9), and group 4 (1115 years, n = 8). Speech examination and orthopedic, neurological, and statistical tests were performed. The results of the examination were analyzed statistically. 
RESULTS: In this study, 78.8% of the patients with obstetric palsy had speech pathology. Children with speech disorders had more severe neurology and motor disturbance than children without speech pathology. In group 1, speech disorders were identified in 66.7%; group 2, 90.0%; group 3, 66.7%; group 4, 87.5%. Group 1 had speech development delay and phoneticphonemic underdevelopment. Group 2 had general speech underdevelopment and phoneticphonemic underdevelopment. Group 3 had general speech, lexicalgrammatical, and phoneticphonemic underdevelopment, Group 4 had general speech and lexicalgrammatical underdevelopment. Moreover, 73.1% of the children had minimal dysarthria (predominantly in children of groups 1 and 2). Groups 3 and 4 had written expression disorder. 
CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates a high incidence of speech disorders in children with obstetrics palsy. These children demand early speech examination and timely correction of existing disorders.