Over 1,000 Icelandic Children Wait Years for Speech Therapy
Over 1,000 Icelandic children wait up to four years for speech therapy as English language skills grow at the expense of Icelandic. Specialists report children increasingly recognizing common words only in English, creating new challenges for language development.
More than 1,000 children in Iceland face three to four year waits for speech therapy services. The growing queue reveals systemic challenges in the country's healthcare system.
Rakel Guðfinnsdóttir co-owns a speech therapy practice and has worked in the field for nearly a decade. She confirms between 1,000 and 1,500 children currently sit on waiting lists nationwide.
"The landscape is completely changing," Rakel said in a radio interview. "English is increasingly mixing into children's language development."
Her practice specializes in children with severe language development issues. Standard language assessments sometimes show surprising results.
Many children now recognize common words only in English rather than Icelandic. Vocabulary forms the foundation of language comprehension.
The more words children know, the better they understand their environment and express themselves. Test results clearly demonstrate this shift toward English language dominance.
This situation highlights how global language trends affect even isolated linguistic communities like Iceland's. The healthcare system struggles to keep pace with these evolving needs while maintaining cultural identity.