Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day

[Ross Clark]

Let's see...DLD is language difficulty (speaking and understanding,
relative to age) which is _not_ a concomitant of some other difficulty
(e.g. hearing loss, autism spectrum disorder).

Crystal relates that it has long been recognized by speech/language
therapists and the like, but not until 2016 did they get together and
agree on a standard name for it. To them we owe this day.

So it's a thing, it has a name, but given the negative definition above,
one wonders whether they have made a good case that it is just one thing.

There's more on it out there:

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/health/voice/developmental-language-disorder.pdf

https://www.deb.co.nz/dyslexia/getting-started/what-is-developmental-language-disorder-dld/

https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/resource-library-for-educators/developmental-language-disorder-dld/


I seem to remember from years ago that DLD played a role in arguments
about the evolution of language, since it was claimed to be associated
with the presence or absence of a particular gene. Don't know whether
this is still taken seriously.

[Aidan Kehoe]

Let's see...DLD is language difficulty (speaking and understanding, relative to
age) which is _not_ a concomitant of some other difficulty (e.g. hearing loss,
autism spectrum disorder).
Crystal relates that it has long been recognized by speech/language therapists
and the like, but not until 2016 did they get together and agree on a standard
name for it. To them we owe this day.
So it's a thing, it has a name, but given the negative definition above, one
wonders whether they have made a good case that it is just one thing.

No, they haven’t, it’s certainly multiple things.

By the listed definitions childhood lisps and stammers qualify, which are very
different clinical entities from mutism without other evident developmental
disorders, which also qualifies.

Back when I engaged with 23andme I was advised my genetics suggest I have a
slight disadvantage in motor skill compared to the norm, and indeed my
proprioception for my tongue position didn’t really develop until my 30s, which
was awkward in studying linguistics at 18 and 19. No real speech problems, but
a stronger version of this disadvantage would also qualify; in any event what
the speech and language therapists do is the appropriate management, so no harm
from this inaccuracy.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/health/voice/developmental-language-disorder.pdf
https://www.deb.co.nz/dyslexia/getting-started/what-is-developmental-language-disorder-dld/
https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/resource-library-for-educators/developmental-language-disorder-dld/
I seem to remember from years ago that DLD played a role in arguments about the
evolution of language, since it was claimed to be associated with the presence
or absence of a particular gene. Don't know whether this is still taken
seriously.