Cumulative Risk Factors in Child Language Development

What is it about?

This document discusses the role of early language delays in children under the age of two (i.e., being a “Late Talker”) and the impact of having a positive family history of language or literacy problems (i.e., a first-degree relative diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder or Developmental Dyslexia) on language abilities at age three. We evaluated the cumulative effect of these factors and sought to clarify the longitudinal relationships between these individual characteristics and various language abilities. Our findings indicate a cumulative effect of familial history and late talking on later language abilities. In particular, toddlers with both risk factors showed the poorest language outcomes. Additionally, we found that toddlers with a positive family history tended to experience more phonological and speech-sound difficulties, while late talking was associated with smaller vocabulary sizes later on.

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Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash

Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The early identification of developmental language disorders remains a significant challenge. There is ongoing debate about which factors to assess and measure in the first two years of life that could predict later language difficulties. This study emphasizes the importance of gathering information on early delays in language emergence and on family history of language-related disorders when evaluating young children with language difficulties. Children who experience both of these risk factors should be closely monitored, as they may have a higher likelihood of persistent language delays. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of evaluating phonological and speech-sound abilities, in addition to lexical and other language skills, when assessing young children with a positive family history of language-related disorders.

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