Abilities and Disabilities Among Children With Developmental Language Disorder.
Karla K McGregor, Nancy Ohlmann, Nichole Eden and 2 others
PMID 37159846WHAT IT FOUND
Language impairment severity did not predict disability.
Children with DLD who accumulated multiple risks like low nonverbal IQ or poor health were more likely to be disabled, while those with one or no risks functioned well. Strengths in daily living and socialization persisted.
Key findings
01Within the DLD group, the severity of language impairment was not significantly related to functional classification, meaning some children with mild impairments had disabilities while others with severe impairments did not.
02Accumulation of risk factors, rather than the presence of any single risk, differentiated functional levels; none of the children with DLD who had healthy function had more than one risk factor.
03Children with DLD demonstrated group-level strengths in domestic and personal daily living, coping, play, and gross motor function, often scoring near the expected mean.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (79 children) and recruited from a longitudinal study, which may introduce selection bias. Caregiver reports were used to determine academic performance and SES, which are blunt measures and may underestimate the extent of academic disability. The study did not include teacher reports, which are often more accurate for academic and classroom function. The sample was limited to English-speaking families in the US, primarily in the Midwest, reducing generalizability. The nature and intensity of existing services received by the children were not documented.
Declared interests
Funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (Grant 5 R01 DC011742-07). No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a child with DLD who has mild language impairment scores will function well in school or daily life. The study found that severity of impairment did not predict disability; instead, the accumulation of other risks (such as low nonverbal IQ, low caregiver education, or comorbid health conditions) was the key differentiator. Children with mild impairments but multiple risks were as likely to have functional disabilities as those with severe impairments.