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Young children with language difficulties: a dimensional approach to subgrouping
Rianne Jansen1, Eva Ceulemans, Jolien Grauwels
1KU Leuven, Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Belgium; KU Leuven, Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Belgium.
This study identified four subgroups of children with language difficulties based on cognitive ability and social skills. These bottom-up subgroups better capture behavioral differences in developmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Language difficulties in children are behaviorally heterogeneous.
- Existing classifications may not fully capture this heterogeneity.
- A dimensional approach offers a potential alternative for subgrouping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create data-driven subgroups of children with language difficulties using a dimensional approach.
- To investigate if these subgroups better reflect behavioral heterogeneity.
- To identify key skills for assessment in children with language difficulties.
Main Methods:
- A dimensional approach was employed to construct subgroups.
- 36 Dutch-speaking children with language difficulties participated.
- Subgroups were delineated based on cognitive ability, symbol understanding, joint attention, and autism spectrum disorder characteristics.
Main Results:
- Four distinct subgroups were identified.
- Children with different developmental disorders were found within the same subgroup.
- Behavioral heterogeneity was captured more meaningfully by these subgroups.
Conclusions:
- Bottom-up constructed subgroups effectively represent heterogeneous behavioral profiles in children with developmental difficulties.
- Joint attention and symbol understanding are crucial skills to assess in young children with language difficulties.
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