Vestibular Stinlulatioll Effect on Language Developlllelt 1 t in Mentally Retarded Children ( semicircular canals , therapy , PICAC )

Effects of specific vestibular stimulation and speech therapy on language ability in mentally retarded children were examined. Thirty subJects were assigned to three treatment groups on the basis of the rank order of overall scores on the Porch Index of Communicative Abilzty in Children (PICA C). Group I recemed specific vestibular input in addition to specifiC speech therapy. Group II received specific speech therapy alone. Group III received general speech stimulation. Treatment was given during a 6-week period, Group I receiving semicircular canal stimulatzan twice a week. Results indicated that all three treatments produce some improvement 111 general communication skills. Group I showed higher mean percentage gains in all areas of the PICA C, especially verbal, except visual and gestural in which Group !I (specific speech) showed highest gains. However, analysis of variance indicated that these differences among groups were not significant. The hypothetical connect zan between the vestibular stimulation and language abilzty or acquisition and implications for future research are discussed. Beth Kantner