FACILITATING ENGAGEMENT WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE SERVICES IN CHILDREN OF ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

BACKGROUND: The relationship between early language delay and lower socioeconomic status is well established. This trend is particularly troubling when considering the outcomes of children born to adolescent mothers, whose incomes tend to fall well below the poverty line and whose difficult social circumstances may undermine the provision of an enriching home literacy environment for their children. Among the children of adolescent mothers involved in a Teen-Tot clinic, almost half of the children were identified with an expressive speech and language delay by the age of 18 months. Despite the successes of early intervention, it is believed that less than 25% of adolescent mothers involved with the Teen-Tot clinic whose children were identified with a speech delay followed-up with the recommended hearing assessment and referral to preschool speech and language services.