Indirect Effects of COVID-19: Factors Associated with Delayed Language Development

Abstract In this review article, I examined factors that interfered with the development of speech and language as a function of the use of masks and physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. I focused on infants and children interacting with adults, and searched for the acoustic distortion of speech with use of facial masks, distortion of visual cues for facial gestures accompanying speech production, distortion in adult speech with use of mask, performance of infants and children in speech perception tasks, limitation of acoustic cues in classroom settings, and effects of reduction in social interactions. Data are not yet comprehensive but suggest that the use of masks and reduction in social interaction may synergistically contribute to the delay in language development.