Developmental language disorder: Its impact on literacy and beyond
- syoung679
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By Michelle Mark, teacher, Vancouver; Sue Belliveau, teacher, Vancouver;
Eleanor Roff, SLP, Vancouver; and Caitlin Malli, SLP, Saanich
As language is the medium of almost all educational instruction and communication is key for building community and belonging, it is vital that we recognize when a student may be experiencing language-based learning challenges, particularly if the concerns are severe enough to meet the criteria for developmental language disorder (DLD). Although DLD isn’t recognized as a designation in BC, statistically there may be one or two students in your class with this hidden disability. This article aims to highlight how to identify students who may have DLD as well as provide some broad steps that educators can take to support students.
What is DLD?
People with DLD have difficulty, beginning in childhood, learning their first language. This is due to brain-based differences in the way they hear (perceive) speech and language. Researchers can even see these differences during brain scans.
Although students with broader conditions, such as autism or intellectual disability, can have a language disorder in association with that diagnosis, those with DLD don’t have any other broad difficulties, which is why it’s called developmental language disorder. However, DLD can occur alongside other, more specific diagnoses, such as learning disorders in reading, writing, and/or math, and ADHD.
How do I know if a student may have DLD?
Here are some observations you may make in your classroom:
Receptive language (comprehension) difficulties: a student may appear not to be paying attention, may be off topic, can’t follow directions, or doesn’t understand a story you read together in class.
Expressive language difficulties: a student may use the wrong vocabulary (or a similar word that isn’t quite right in context), use short sentences, use ungrammatical sentences, or tell stories that contain events that are out of order or difficult to follow.
They may have possible social-emotional difficulties, e.g., frustration or isolation.
Reading comprehension could be affected.
The Simple View of Reading (1) and the Reading Rope (2) state that reading comprehension is the result of decoding and language comprehension skills. As such, screening, instruction, and intervention in decoding and in language comprehension are necessary for literacy success, both in reading and writing.
There are screeners that can help identify different student profiles (language vs. sound-based/decoding difficulties), which can then lead to more specific interventions. Ultimately, there are four different profiles of student learning needs we can differentiate between using a quadrant model looking at sound-level skills (letter sounds, phonemic awareness, word reading, oral reading fluency) vs. language-level skills (oral language screeners, reading comprehension screeners, and conversational observations), as shown in the graphic below:
Decoding skills vs. language skills student profiles
Top right: Students who can decode and understand orally and/or when reading; continue with classroom instruction as normal.
Top left: Students who can’t decode but have good oral language and/or comprehension (assessed using reading comprehension measures, such as Maze); more explicit, cumulative decoding intervention needed.
Bottom right: Students who can decode but not understand orally; more explicit, structured language intervention needed.
Bottom left: Students who can’t decode or understand orally; more explicit, structured language and decoding intervention needed.
Why is identifying DLD important?
DLD makes it difficult to access the academic curriculum because almost all areas of learning require language. It can affect reading comprehension (50% or more of students with DLD have difficulties with reading), writing composition, and even math (students with DLD are four times more likely to have math difficulties). (4) There are often social-emotional impacts as well (including a higher risk of being bullied and poorer quality of friendships; 80% of children with emotional/behavioural difficulties have language challenges). (5) These difficulties change over time as children mature but they persist into adulthood; adults with DLD are more likely to have poorer employment, mental health, and quality of life outcomes. (6)
Despite how common DLD is (it’s five times more prevalent than autism), BC is the most populous province in Canada without a Ministry designation for it. Alberta, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec all have education systems that legally recognize language disorders as a designation. As 7–10% of children have DLD, approximately 2 students in a classroom of 30 would likely have it. (7) Teachers in BC need resources to effectively support these students.
How can I help student(s) with DLD?
If you see signs of any language difficulties, a referral to your school speech language pathologist (SLP) via a school-based team would be warranted. SLPs assess for and diagnose DLD as well as pinpoint specific areas of language for intervention.
SLPs can diagnose DLD in students as young as Kindergarten age, so we don’t have to wait for them to fail to identify their language learning needs.
Don’t assume English language difficulties in English language learners (ELL) are due to their unfamiliarity with English; SLPs can informally assess students’ first-language skills using an interpreter to see if students are at risk in their first language or if the difficulty is simply due to their learning an additional language.
Just because a student can hold a conversation does not mean their language skills are developing as they should, especially in the intermediate years and beyond. Look for subtle challenges with learning new vocabulary, following complex directions, and mastering complex academic language, particularly if a student cannot decode at grade level and therefore misses out on vocabulary exposure through reading age-appropriate written information.
Evidence-based practices indicate that not only should decoding be taught in an explicit, systematic, cumulative way but so too should language.
SLPs are members of the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC and, as such, can offer evidence-based practices. This means that SLPs have key information, strat-egies, and materials to support students and teachers with explicit, systematic, cumulative instruction in language, both oral and written (reading comprehension and writing composition). Connect with your school SLP for more discussion around classroom, small group, and individual student instruction for language.
The new BCTF provincial specialist association, Educational Assessment, Support, and Intervention (EASI) has provided DLD advocacy materials to EASI members and non-EASI contacts in approximately 40 out of the 60 school districts in BC so far, so that teachers, administrators, and parents are more aware of this hidden disability. Keep your eye out for these by asking your school SLP about them or visiting www.easipsa.com.
1 P. Gough and W. Tunmer, “Decoding, Reading, and Reading Disability,” Remedial and Special Education, 7, 6–10, 1986; W. Hoover and P. Gough, “The simple view of reading,” Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2, 127–160, 1990.
2 H. Scarborough, “Connecting Early Language and Literacy to Later Reading (Dis)abilities: Evidence, Theory, and Practice,” Handbook for Research in Early Literacy, 2001.
3 H. W. Catts, S. M. Adlof, T. P. Hogan, and S. E. Weismer, “Are Specific Language Impairment and Dyslexia Distinct Disorders?” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48(6), 1378–1396, 2005: pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/1092-4388%282005/096%29; S. M. Adlof and T. P. Hogan, “Understanding Dyslexia in the Context of Developmental Language Disorders,” 49(4), 762–773, 2018: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30458538
4 S. M. Adlof and T. P. Hogan, “Understanding dyslexia in the context of developmental language disorders,” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(4), 762–773, 2018: doi.org/10.1044/2018_LSHSS-DYSLC-18-0049
5 S. M. Redmond, “Peer victimization among students with specific language impairment, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and typical development,” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 42(4), 520–535, 2011: doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0078)
6 G. Conti-Ramsden, K. Durkin, U. Toseeb, N. Botting, and A. Pickles, “Education and employment outcomes of young adults with a history of developmental language disorder,” International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 53(2), 237–255, 2018: doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12338
7 A. Filkow, “Early intervention leads to better outcomes for kids with speech-language delays, U of A researchers say,” Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 15 October 15, 2020: www.ualberta.ca/en/rehabilitation/news-and-events/news/2020/october/early-intervention-leads-to-better-outcomes-for-kids-with-speech-language-delays%2C-u-of-a-researchers-say.html
