Low language capacity in childhood: A systematic review of prevalence estimates
Authors: Hill E. , Calder S. , Candy C. , Truscott G. , Kaur J. , Savage B. , Reilly S. 
Published: August 2023

Background and Aims

Epidemiological studies have provided invaluable insight into the origin and impact of low language skills in childhood and adolescence. However, changing terminology and diagnostic guidelines have contributed to variable estimations of the prevalence of developmental language difficulties. The aim of this review was to profile the extent and variability of low language prevalence estimates through a systematic review of epidemiological literature.

Methods

A systematic review of the empirical research (August 2022) was undertaken to identify studies that aimed to estimate the prevalence of low language skills in children (<18 years). A total of 19 studies published between 1980–2022 met inclusion criteria for review.

Results

Studies reported prevalence estimates of low language skills in children between 1 and 16 years. Estimated rates varied from 0.4% to 25.2%. More stable estimations were observed in studies of children aged 5 years and older and those that applied updated diagnostic criteria to performance on standardised assessments of receptive and expressive language.

Conclusions and Implications

The estimated prevalence of low language skills in childhood varies considerably in the literature. Application of updated diagnostic criteria, including the assessment of functional impact, is critical to inform advocacy efforts and govern social, health and educational policies.

What this paper adds

What is already known on the subject

Epidemiological research has informed our understanding of the origin and impact of low language capacity in childhood.

Childhood language disorder is met with a rich history of evolving terminology and diagnostic guidelines to identify children with low language skills.

Inconsistent definitions of and methods to identify low language in children have resulted in variable prevalence estimates in population‐based studies.

Variability in prevalence estimates impacts advocacy efforts to inform social, health and educational policy for child language disorder.

What this study adds

A total of 19 studies published at the time of this review aimed to provide estimates of the proportion of children who experience low language skills.

Prevalence estimates varied between 0.4% and 25.2%, with more stable estimates reported in studies of older school‐age children and those which utilised standardised assessments of both expressive and receptive language.

Few studies utilised assessments of functional impact of language difficulties, which is misaligned with updated diagnostic criteria for child language disorder.

What are the clinical implications of this work?

This review reports substantial variability in estimates of the proportion of children and adolescents who live with low language skills. This variability underscores the importance of applying updated diagnostic criteria to identify the prevalence low language in childhood.

Efforts to estimate the prevalence of low language must include measures of functional impact of low language skills. This aligns with clinical recommendations, which call for routine assessment of functional outcomes. To this end, we require a unified understanding of the term ‘functional impact’ in the context of low language, including the development and evaluation of measures that assess impact across emotional, social and academic domains.