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Ten questions about terminology for children with unexplained language problems
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders
|August 22, 2014
Summary
Children with unexplained language problems need clear diagnostic labels for services and research. "Specific language impairment" is a potential term, but consensus on terminology is crucial for progress.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Linguistics
- Clinical psychology
Background:
- Consistent diagnostic terms exist for reading, attention, and social cognition difficulties in children.
- Unlike other developmental issues, there's no agreed-upon label for children with unexplained language problems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the necessity of labels for unexplained childhood language problems.
- To determine appropriate terminology for these conditions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and analysis of existing diagnostic labels.
- Survey of Google Scholar returns for terms used between 1994-2013.
Main Results:
- A multitude of 132 different terms were identified for unexplained language problems.
- Many labels were too general; 'specific language impairment' was most common among useful terms.
Conclusions:
- The current lack of consistent terminology hinders research and service provision for children with language issues.
- Recommended terms include 'specific language impairment' (meaning idiopathic), 'primary language impairment', 'developmental language disorder', or 'language learning impairment'.