Language Delay and Language Specific Disorder: differences

After talking about language delay and specific language disorder, it is interesting to describe some differences between both terms.

There are several denominations to try to define the evolutionary problems of oral language. All of them try to find out if the difficulty affects only speech or language, if it is a delay or a deviation from the normal patterns of acquisition and development of language skills or locate the triggering factor of the disorder.

Communication through oral language begins around 2 years and ends around 6 years. On this, the lags with respect to said habitual acquisition chronology that persist beyond 6 years deserve careful observation and follow-up, since they may be indicative of the existence of a delay or alteration of language development.

This initial suspicion can be confirmed and diagnosed as language delay provided that the following aspects occur:

  • greater difficulties are appreciated in expression than in understanding
  • the delay in linguistic development is the same in all linguistic components (when producing sounds, when using different grammatical aspects, in vocabulary, in the social use of language ...)
  • the problems of emission of sounds and vocabulary are the most striking
  • Access to oral language as a way of communicating with the environment appears a year and a half later than usual
  • there is little difference between children diagnosed with language delay
  • With a stimulating environment and good intellectual abilities, children can compensate for these linguistic deficiencies
  • The response to the intervention is very good and its linguistic competence improves in a short time

When talking about language disorder You can see that:

  • the problems occur both expressively and comprehensively
  • some language skills of their age are preserved (for example, with 6 years they pronounce the / rr / perfectly), while others simpler or primitive are altered (they make mistakes with the sound / n /)
  • linguistic errors are given that do not correspond to the usual ones in the processes of acquisition of the same (for example, in the acquisition of the syllables formed by / consonant + r /, as "dragon", the most usual is to replace the / r / by the / l / and say “dlagón.” Children with TEL would make a different substitution to this, usual in language development)
  • there are many differences between children diagnosed with specific language disorder
  • the most altered aspect is the part that has to do with grammar (sentence links, verbal concordance, plural formation ...)

Finally, we must bear in mind that, in many cases, a language delay may evolve into a specific language disorder if adequate intervention is not started in time.

Therefore, for the intervention, we must take into account these aspects, which can guide us towards more specific objectives and achieve optimal development in the language skills affected.

Video: Understanding language disorders (March 2024).