6/23/2014 Specific Language Impairment

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Specific Language Impairment

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What is specific language impairment?
What causes specific language impairment?

What are the symptoms of specific language impairment?

How is specific language impairment diagnosed in children?
What treatments are available for specific language impairment?
What kinds of research are being conducted?

Where can I find additional information?

What is specific language impairment?
Specific language impairment (SLI) is a language
disorder that delays the mastery of language
skills in children who have no hearing loss or
other developmental delays. SLI is also called
developmental language disorder, language
delay, or developmental dysphasia. It is one of
the most common childhood learning disabilities,
affecting approximately 7 to 8 percent of
children in kindergarten. The impact of SLI
persists into adulthood.

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What causes specific language
impairment?

The cause of SLI is unknown, but recent
discoveries suggest it has a strong genetic link.
Children with SLI are more likely than those
without SLI to have parents and siblings who
also have had difficulties and delays in
speaking. In fact, 50 to 70 percent of children
with SLI have at least one other family member
with the disorder.

Specific language impairment is one of the
most common childhood learning
disabilities, affecting approximately

7 to 8 percent of children in kindergarten.

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What are the symptoms of specific language impairment?

Children with SLI are often late to talk and may not produce any words until they are 2 years
old. At age 3, they may talk, but may not be understood. As they grow older, children with SLI
will struggle to learn new words and make conversation. Having difficulty using verbs is a
hallmark of SLI. Typical errors that a 5-year-old child with SLI would make include dropping
the “s" from the end of present-tense verbs, dropping past tense, and asking questions
without the usual “be” or “do” verbs. For example, instead of saying “She rides the horse,” a
child with SLI will say, “She ride the horse.” Instead of saying “He ate the cookie,” a child with
SLI will say, “He eat the cookie.” Instead of saying “Why does he like me?”, a child with SLI
will ask, “Why he like me?”

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How is specific language impairment diagnosed in children?

The first person to suspect a child might have SLI is often a parent or preschool or school
teacher. A number of speech-language professionals might be involved in the diagnosis,
including a speech-language pathologist (a health professional trained to evaluate and treat
children with speech or language problems). Language skills are tested using assessment
tools that evaluate how well the child constructs sentences and keeps words in their proper
order, the number of words in his or her vocabulary, and the quality of his or her spoken
language. There are a number of tests commercially available that can specifically diagnose
SLI. Some of the tests use interactions between the child and puppets and other toys to
focus on specific rules of grammar, especially the misuse of verb tenses. These tests can be
used with children between 3 and 8 years of age and are especially useful for identifying
children with SLI once they enter school.

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What treatments are available for specific language impairment?
Because SLI affects reading it also affects learning. If it is not treated early, it can affect a
child's performance in school. Since the early signs of SLI are often present in children as
young as 3 years old, the preschool years can be used to prepare them for kindergarten with

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6/23/2014 Specific Language Impairment

special programs designed to enrich language development. This kind of classroom program
might enlist normally developing children to act as role models for children with SLI and
feature activities that encourage role-playing and sharing time, as well as hands-on lessons
to explore new, interesting vocabulary. Some parents also might want their child to see a
speech-language pathologist, who can assess

their child’s needs, engage him or her in structured activities, and recommend home materials
for at-home enrichment.

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What kinds of research are being conducted?

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) supports a
wide variety of research to understand the genetic underpinnings of SLI, the nature of the
language deficits that cause it, and better ways to diagnose and treat children with it.

Genetic research: An NIDCD-supported investigator recently has identified a mutation in
a gene on chromosome 6, called the KIAA0319 gene, that appears to play a key role in
SLI. The mutation plays a supporting role in other learning disabilities, such as dyslexia,
some cases of autism, and speech sound disorders (conditions in which speech sounds
are either not produced or produced or used incorrectly). This finding lends support to the
idea that difficulties in learning language may be coming from the same genes that
influence difficulties with reading and understanding printed text. Other potentially
influential genes also are being explored.

Bilingual research: The standardized tests that speech-language pathologists use in
schools to screen for language impairments are based on typical language development
milestones in English. Because bilingual children are more likely to score in the at-risk
range on these tests, it becomes difficult to distinguish between children who are
struggling to learn a new language and children with true language impairments. After
studying a large group of Hispanic children who speak English as a second language,
NIDCD-funded researchers have developed a dual language diagnostic test to identify
bilingual children with language impairments. It's now being tested in a group of children
4 to 6 years old, and will eventually be expanded to children 7 to 9 years old. The same
research team is also trying out an intervention program with a small group of bilingual
first graders with SLI to find techniques and strategies to help them succeed academically.

Diagnostic research: Children with SLI have significant communication problems, which
are also characteristic of most children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Impairments
in understanding and the onset of spoken language are common in both groups. No one
knows yet if there are early developmental signs that could signal or predict language
difficulties and might potentially allow for early identification and intervention with these
children. The NIDCD is currently funding researchers looking for risk markers associated
with SLI and ASD that could signal later problems in speech and communication. In a
group of children 6 months to 1 year old who, because of family history, are at risk for SLI
or ASD, the investigators are collecting data using behavioral, eye-tracking, and
neurophysiological measures, as well as general measures of cognitive and brain
development. They will then follow these children until they are 3 years old to see if there
are indicators that are specific to SLI or ASD or that could predict the development of
either disorder. Findings from this research could have a major influence in developing
new approaches to early screening and diagnosis for SLI and ASD.

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Where can I get more information?

The NIDCD maintains a directory of organizations that provide information on the normal and
disordered processes of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language. Please
see the list of organizations at www.nidcd.nih.gov/directory.

Use the following keywords to help you search for organizations that can answer questions
and provide printed or electronic information on Specific Language Impairmente:

Language
Speech
Speech-language pathologists

For more information, additional addresses and phone numbers, or a printed list of
organizations, contact:

NIDCD Information Clearinghouse
1 Communication Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20892-3456

Toll-free Voice: (800) 241-1044
Toll-free TTY: (800) 241-1055

Fax: (301) 770-8977

E-mail: nidcdinfo @nidcd.nih.gov

NIH Publication No. 11-7751
Updated March 2011

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Specific Language Impairment

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