Early Indicators of Learning Disabilities in Children with Developmental Language Disorder Compared to Their Typically Developing Peers

Abstract

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a language deficit affecting approximately 7% of the general population and does not associate with any hearing impairment, neurological damage, or mental disorder. In DLD, the complications arise over time due to the learning difficulties experienced, which causes eventual cognitive delay compared to peers. Therefore, early diagnosis is important in children with DLD. In this study, the objective was to screen for early signs of learning disability in children aged 4 to 6 years with DLD. The study included 30 normal developing children and 26 children with DLD. The children with normal development comprised 17 boys and 13 girls, while the group of children with DLD included 16 boys and 10 girls. Learning disability was evaluated using the Learning Disability Early Symptoms Screening Scale (LDESSS) and Test of Early Literacy (TEL). Children with DLD scored higher on all subscales of LDESSS and lower on all subscales of TEL than the normal developing group ( p < .001). According to LDESSS and TEL scores, the risk of learning disability in children with DLD was significantly higher than the normal developing group. In addition, gender had no significant association in terms of learning disability. Since the risk of learning disabilities in children with DLD is higher than normal developing peers, early diagnosis and early therapy is recommended to prevent academic and social problems in the future.