Spoken Language Disorders

The scope of this Practice Portal page is limited to spoken language disorders (listening and speaking) manifested in preschool and school-age children (3–21 years old) who use oral modes of communication. It can be understood best in relation to the companion Practice Portal page on Written Language Disorders.

For information about younger children whose language is emerging later than expected, see ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Late Language Emergence.

For information specific to deaf and hard of hearing children, see ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Language and Communication of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.

For information about acquired language disorders in adults (i.e., aphasia), see ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Aphasia. See also ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury for more information about language problems related to traumatic brain injury.

See the Spoken Language Disorders Evidence Map for summaries of the available research on this topic.

A spoken language disorder represents a persistent difficulty in the acquisition and use of listening and speaking skills across any of the five language domains: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Language disorders may persist across the life span, and symptoms may change over time. A spoken language disorder can occur in isolation or in the presence of other conditions. Children who have experienced trauma may also exhibit language problems.

Clinicians and researchers may refer to a spoken language disorder using one of the following terms, depending on the language disorder’s etiology:

  • Developmental language disorder (DLD) is used when the spoken language disorder is a primary disability without a known medical cause and persisting at school age and beyond (Bishop et al., 2017). DLD is also used when the language disorder co-occurs with other diagnoses such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or developmental coordination disorder, but the causal relationship is not as obvious (Bishop et al., 2017).
    • Specific language impairment also appears in the literature. Some researchers may still use “specific language impairment” with distinctions from DLD (McGregor et al., 2020; Rice, 2020).
  • Language disorder associated with [condition] is used to describe a spoken language disorder that is secondary to another condition or diagnosis, such autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury, or sensory impairment. For example, “a language disorder associated with autism.”

Reading, Writing, and Social Communication in Spoken Language Disorders

Children with a spoken language disorder often have difficulty learning to read and write. A learning disability (i.e., reading or writing disorder) is identified when spoken language disorders negatively affect a child’s academic performance. Conversely, children with reading and writing problems tend to struggle with spoken language, particularly as it relates to higher order spoken language skills, such as expository discourse (Scott & Windsor, 2000). See Language In Brief and the Practice Portal page on Written Language Disorders.

Some children with language disorders may have social communication difficulty because language processing—along with social interaction, social cognition, and pragmatics—comprises social communication. See ASHA’s Practice Portal page on Social Communication Disorder.

Content Disclaimer: The Practice Portal, ASHA policy documents, and guidelines contain information for use in all settings; however, members must consider all applicable local, state and federal requirements when applying the information in their specific work setting.

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