Place of Residence Affects Preschool Children's Speech Development: A Study on Children Living in Apartments and Neighborhoods

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the place of residence on the speech development of preschool children living in an apartment or neighbourhood. In the study, children's speech skills were evaluated using the Expert Assessment Scale of Speech Skills (EASSS) developed by Işık Aydın and Erdem (2022). In this context, 100 students (53 living in an apartment and 47 living in a neighbourhood) were analysed by expert therapists according to the EASSS results. According to these findings, although the EASSS total score frequencies of the participants differed, it was observed that children living in apartments had a significant delay in speech development compared to those living in the neighbourhood (t=-8.488, p<.001, Cohen's d=-2.44). In conclusion, social isolation is thought to be one of the main causes of speech development delay in children living in apartment buildings. Therefore, it is thought that it is important to create common playgrounds to support the language development of children living in these areas.