26 November 2025
COVID lockdowns and social distancing measures in Scotland have been linked to an increase in the number of toddlers experiencing speech, language, communication and developmental difficulties, a new study has found.
The research, undertaken by experts from the University of Edinburgh, involved almost 258,000 children in Scotland, aged 13 to 15 months and 27 to 30 months. The study is the largest known analysis of data assessing COVID-19 measures on child developmental outcomes at a population level in the UK or Europe.
Assessing data from routine health reviews, the researchers examined the proportion of children with any concerns raised by health visitors regarding the children’s development over time. They found that the number of children with a least one developmental issue – including speech, language and communication – increased by up to 6.6 per cent between the COVID-19 lockdown period March 2020 and August 2021.
Findings were consistent across different types of developmental concerns including problem solving, speech and behaviour.
Notably, developmental concerns at 13 to 15 months continued to rise even after the public health and social measures were lifted, while developmental concerns at the 27 to 30-month reviews stopped increasing but remained above pre-pandemic levels.
Glenn Carter, Head of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Scotland Office, said: “We welcome this important research into how successive COVID-19 lockdowns impacted young children’s development, including their speech, language and communication skills. It echoes what speech and language therapists have been telling us about the children they are supporting and the increase in demand for their services. It is vital that children are able to access speech and language therapy as early as possible to have the best chance in life.
“The children in this study are now, or very shortly starting primary school. It’s important that every child has the speech, language and communication support they need at any stage of life, which is why we’re calling for speech and language therapists to be embedded in every nursery and school in Scotland.”
The study, in partnership with Public Health Scotland, was conducted as part of the wider COVID-19 Health Impact on long-term Child Development in Scotland (CHILDS) study.
The full study is published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe 2025.
