Article written by: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
What is developmental language disorder (DLD)?
Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a communication disorder that interferes with learning, understanding, and using language. These language difficulties are not explained by other conditions, such as hearing loss or autism, or by extenuating circumstances, such as lack of exposure to language. DLD can affect a child’s speaking, listening, reading, and writing. DLD has also been called specific language impairment, language delay, or developmental dysphasia. It is one of the most common developmental disorders, affecting approximately 1 in 14 children in kindergarten. The impact of DLD persists into adulthood.
What causes DLD?
DLD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Neurodevelopmental disorders are caused by complex interactions between genes and the environment that change brain development. The exact causes of the brain differences that lead to DLD are unknown.
Neurodevelopmental disorders tend to run in families. Children with DLD are more likely than those without DLD to have parents and siblings who have also had difficulties and delays in language development. In fact, 50 to 70 percent of children with DLD have at least one family member with the disorder. In addition, other potentially related neurodevelopmental disorders, such as dyslexia or autism, are more common in the family members of a child with DLD.
Learning more than one language at a time does not cause DLD. The disorder can, however, affect both multilingual children and children who speak only one language. For multilingual children, DLD will impact all languages spoken by a child. Importantly, learning multiple languages is not harmful for a child with DLD. A multilingual child with DLD will not struggle more than a child with DLD who speaks only one language.
What are the symptoms of DLD?
A child with DLD often has a history of being a late talker (reaching spoken language milestones later than peers). Although some late talkers eventually catch up with peers, children with DLD have persistent language difficulties.
Younger children with DLD may:
- Be late to put words together into sentences.
- Struggle to learn new words and make conversation.
- Have difficulty following directions, not because they are stubborn, but because they do not fully understand the words spoken to them.
- Make frequent grammatical errors when speaking.
Symptoms common in older children and adults with DLD include:
- Limited use of complex sentences.
- Difficulty finding the right words.
- Difficulty understanding figurative language.
- Reading problems.
- Disorganized storytelling and writing.
- Frequent grammatical and spelling errors.
Language difficulties may be misinterpreted as a behavioral issue. For example, a child who struggles with language may avoid interactions, leading others to think that the child is shy. A child may not follow directions because they don’t understand the instructions, but others may interpret this as misbehavior. A child who struggles to communicate may become frustrated and act out. When a child is struggling at home or in school, it is important to determine if language difficulties may be part of the problem.
How is DLD diagnosed?
If a doctor, teacher, or parent suspects that a child has DLD, a speech-language pathologist (a professional trained to assess and treat people with speech or language problems) can evaluate the child’s language skills. The type of evaluation depends on the child’s age and the concerns that led to the evaluation. In general, an evaluation includes:
- Direct observation of the child.
- Interviews and questionnaires completed by parents and/or teachers.
- Assessments of the child’s learning ability.
- Standardized tests of current language performance.
These tools allow the speech-language pathologist to compare the child’s language skills to those of same-age peers, identify specific difficulties, and plan for potential treatment targets.