The Association Between Past Speech Therapy and Preseason Symptom Reporting in Adolescent Student Athletes

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD, have been shown to be associated with different baseline symptom reporting, but the relationship between a history of speech therapy and symptom reporting is not well understood. This study examined the association between prior speech therapy and baseline symptom reporting in student athletes. Methods A preseason baseline database contained 40,378 athletes ages 13–18 who had not sustained a concussion in the past 6 months. Of these, 27,550 athletes denied having all developmental/health conditions (controls) and 1,497 reported only having history of speech therapy (total sample: age M=15.5, SD=1.26; 47% girls). Mann-Whitney U-Tests were used to compare baseline symptom reporting on the ImPACT® Post-Concussion Symptom Scale between athletes with prior speech therapy and controls. Individual symptoms were dichotomized (absent vs. present) and compared between groups using chi-square tests. Results There was a higher proportion of boys in the prior speech therapy group than in the control group (62% vs. 53%; X2=41.9, p<.001). Athletes with speech therapy histories reported greater overall baseline symptoms (ps<.001). The effect sizes were minimal-to-small (Cohen’s d: girls= 0.10; boys=0.20). Slightly higher portions of boys and girls with a history of speech therapy reported trouble falling asleep, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating/ remembering compared to their control counterparts (ps<.05). Further, compared to controls, a higher portion of boys (but not girls) with speech therapy histories reported physical and emotional symptoms. Conclusion Adolescents with speech therapy histories report slightly more symptoms than controls during baseline testing, with a stronger effect in boys. However, effect sizes were very small.