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Full conclusion text.
The Council adopted conclusions entitled "Early detection and treatment of communication disorders in children, including the use of e-Health tools and innovative solutions" (
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), half of all cases of deafness and hearing impairment are avoidable through prevention, early diagnosis and management. The conclusions take into account the conclusions of the 10th Congress of the European Federation of Audiology Societies (EFAS), held on 22-25 June 2011 in Warsaw, highlighting the problem of communication disorders in children and the role of early detection and intervention.
On a Polish initiative, representatives of European scientific societies for audiology, ophthalmology and speech therapy signed the "European consensus on hearing, sight and speech screenings for children beginning the school education" on 22 June 2011.
16620/11), inviting member states to continue to give priority to early detection by screening and follow-up for hearing, vision and speech disorders in children. Together with the Commission member states should consider the field of communication disorders in children as part of the ongoing process of work to be carried out on European reference networks in line with the cross-border health directive, and also give appropriate consideration to this topic in the context of the EU's current e-Health initiatives, including the e-Health network. The Commission is called upon to adopt the criteria and conditions for European reference networks by the end of 2013, taking into account the experience of cooperation among specialized centres for the treatment of communication disorders.
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