What Are Expressive/Receptive Language Disorders and How Do They Affect Learning?
There are many and varied speech and language difficulties. Those that emerge during childhood are termed Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) because they appear during the peak developmental years, are neurodevelopmental in origin, and are not triggered by some other extenuating circumstance, like traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, or lack of exposure to spoken language.
While there are risk factors for DLD, there is no known cause. Common near-synonyms for DLD are Specific Language Impairment (used most often pre-2017), language delay, or developmental dysphasia (NIDCD, 2022; The DLD Project, n.d.). DLD is so common that one in fourteen people receives the diagnosis (The DLD Project, n.d.). While DLD is not a learning disability, it may cause difficulties with learning. Those with DLD may also carry a learning disability (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia), ADHD, and/or Developmental Coordination Disorder diagnoses (The DLD Project, n.d.).
Within the umbrella of DLD, some students will struggle with receptive language (understanding), expressive language (talking), pragmatic language (social language), and/or articulation (producing speech sounds).
Children who struggle with receptive language may have difficulty with:
- Understanding gestures
- Following directions
- Answering questions
- Pointing to objects and pictures
- Knowing how to take turns when talking
Children who struggle with expressive language may have difficulty with:
- Asking questions
- Naming objects
- Using gestures
- Putting words together into sentences
- Learning songs and rhymes
- Using correct pronouns
(ASHA, 2023)
Children who struggle with social communication (also known as pragmatic language) may have difficulty:
- Navigating social interactions
- Interpreting social nuances and nonverbal communication
- Making friends (or later in life, sustaining adult romantic and professional relationships)
(APA, 2013)
Children who struggle with speech sound disorders may have difficulty with:
- Producing certain sounds causing mispronunciations of words that extend past the toddler years (like saying /w/ for /r/ so “rabbit” is pronounced as “wabbit”)
- Moving their mouth into the correct position to produce sounds
- Omitting, adding, substituting, or changing sounds
- Being understood by unfamiliar people
(ASHA, 2023)
Some students are not diagnosed in the early language development years but their challenges present in the middle or high school years as they struggle academically. Many of these difficulties overlap with those that present in late emerging learning disabilities; therefore, “many healthcare professionals call DLD a ‘hidden condition’ because it’s not always obvious.
In children, DLD can look like a learning or behavioral disorder” (Cleveland Clinic, 2024). For this reason, students with lagging language skills must be thoroughly evaluated to identify their learning, language, and behavioral needs.
Evaluation
A licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) evaluates, identifies, and treats language disorders. Psychologists may also identify a possible language disorder in the process of evaluating a student for a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation.
DVFriends has a full-time Speech-Language Pathologist on staff who works one-on-one and in small groups with our students who need additional support in these areas.
If you are unsure if DVFriends serves your student's learning profile, please contact the Admissions Office to speak to Jim Miller or Kavitha Patel.
Kavitha Patel
Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Financial Aid
(610) 640-4150 x2120
Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Financial Aid
(610) 640-4150 x2120