Accordingly, in Saarland in 2023, 13.6 percent of six- to twelve-year-olds were medically diagnosed with a speech development disorder. This corresponds to around 8,200 girls and boys from the federal state. In 2005, 4,200 Saarland children between the ages of six and twelve received a corresponding diagnosis (6.1 percent). The diagnosis rate in Saarland thus increased by 123 percent between 2005 and 2023. “Disorders in language acquisition are among the most common diagnoses in young people. Speech disorders often have negative consequences such as difficulties in reading and writing or problems in interpersonal relationships,” says Dunja Kleis, State Managing Director of BARMER in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Children learn language through imitation. Therefore, it is important that parents communicate a lot with their child and support age-appropriate, beneficial media use.
Children are increasingly unable to do jumping jacks and somersaults
According to the BARMER Children's Atlas, the proportion of children with developmental disorders in the area of movement has also increased significantly in Saarland. While in 2005, 1.8 percent of six- to twelve-year-olds in the state were medically diagnosed with deficits in motor development, by 2023 this figure had risen to 4.7 percent. This is an increase of 161 percent. The number of affected six- to twelve-year-old children in Saarland in 2023 was around 2,800 (2005: 1,300). “One of the causes for the rise in motor developmental disorders is the increasing lack of physical activity among adolescents. Well-developed motor skills, however, are important for school and everyday life, which is why parents should encourage their children from an early age to engage in a variety of gross and fine motor activities,” says Kleis. Many children today can neither do jumping jacks nor somersaults. Parents of children who have difficulty maintaining balance, often drop things, or appear clumsy compared to their peers should consider consulting a pediatrician.
