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Associations Between Language, Speech Sound, and Learning Disorders
Chiara Valeria Marinelli1, Emiliano Pizzicannella1, Marinella De Salvatore2
1Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Brain Sciences
|March 27, 2026
Summary
Specific learning disorders (SLDs) frequently co-occur with communication issues. Speech and language disorders are most common with spelling difficulties, indicating spelling
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Linguistics
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Specific learning disorders (SLDs) in children often correlate with prior speech and language impairments.
- Limited systematic data exists on the co-occurrence of various learning and communication disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations among reading, spelling, and math disorders.
- To examine relationships between learning disorders and diagnosed speech sound and language disorders in children.
Main Methods:
- Study included 235 Italian children (grades 3-8) diagnosed with SLD.
- Children were classified based on learning (reading, spelling, math) and communication (speech sound, language) disorders.
- Prevalence rates for subgroups were calculated.
Main Results:
- High comorbidity among learning disorders: 75.4% had multiple SLDs, 47.7% had combined reading, spelling, and math disorders.
- Communication disorders affected 40.4% of the sample.
- Speech sound and language disorders were frequently linked to spelling disorders, less so to isolated reading or math disorders.
Conclusions:
- Learning disorders frequently co-occur with communication disorders.
- Speech and language disorders show the highest comorbidity with spelling disorder, suggesting its role in phonology, language, and learning.
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