Ridge Hospital records surge in communication disorders among children

Some health officials in the country have expressed worries over the surge in communication disorders in children.

At the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, almost half of paediatric cases are linked to communication disorders.

This was disclosed by the Head of Paediatric and Neo-Development Clinic at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr. Yvonne Brew, in a recent interview on Channel One TV.

“Communication disorders just formed about 10% of the cases that I was seeing. However, as of June this year, half of all the children I’ve seen, which is about almost 50% are children with communication disorders and it’s very common, especially among boys. 80% of all the children coming with communication disorders are boys,” she said.

Dr. Brew attributed the situation to the growing addiction to electronic devices among children.

She advised parents to watch out for any unusual communication signs in their children and to seek medical attention promptly.

The Head of the ENT Unit at the Institutional Care Division at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Eunice Rabiatu Abdulai, stressed the need for comprehensive baseline investigations to effectively manage the situation.

“We will need more investigation to unravel this. If we have at least one audiologist in every Region, one speech therapy centre in every region, and build the capacity of health workers, we’ll be able to get to everybody in primary health care. As we teach, a lot of people will be aware, including health workers, and then we can manage this problem effectively,” she explained.

JKB/AE

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