The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy in patients referred for language delay

The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy is usually made on the basis of gait difficulties or a history of late achievement of normal motor milestones. Other well-described delays, notably in the area of expressive language skills, can provide additional clues to this diagnosis. We present three patients referred to The Developmental Evaluation Clinic because of problems with expressive language observed in school, who ultimately were found to have muscular dystrophy. They are presented to underscore the association of expressive language delay in patients with muscular dystrophy, and to stress the importance of a thorough motor evaluation in children with speech problems.