Determining awareness of preschool teachers about preschoolers with speech and language disorders (Ordu province)

The present study aims to determine the prevalence rate of language and speech disorders in preschoolers regarding teachers' awareness and analyze its association with demographic characteristics of children in the province of Ordu. The scanning method was preferred in order to analyze the rates of language and speech disorders in preschoolers and their association with age, gender, and school. 1363 students whose information was obtained through a survey from 70 preschool teachers in the province of Ordu were included in the study. Among these 1363 students, the number of students who had one or more disorders was determined to be 118, while the prevalence rate was determined to be %8,66. Based on the grand scheme of the study, it can be stated that the most common disorder was speech sound disorder. In the study, it was noticed that language and speech disorders are more prevalent in male children than in female children, and that speech sound disorder was the most common one in both genders. There was a statistically significant relationship between stuttering and gender, and it was determined that the incidence rate of stuttering was significantly higher in male children compared to female children. The incidence rate of the disorders was detected to be the highest at age four, and it was detected to be the lowest at age six. The study demonstrated that language and speech disorders were more prevalent in male children than in female children, and that the prevalence rate decreased from one age group to a consecutive one.