The Language Basis of Reading: DLD and Dyslexia

Jun 10

Totally Talking - Edmonton & Area Speech Language Pathologist — This Spring, *The Language and Reading Study Group* studied the impact of language development on reading development.

We continue to use the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) and Hollis Scarbourogh’s Reading Rope (2001) to guide our topic selection, attempting to focus on each part of the Simple View of Reading (Language Comprehension and Word Recognition) and different strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope.

When we look at the language basis of learning to read (specifically, the language comprehension piece), acknowledging and bringing awareness to Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is important.

Many people have not heard of DLD, despite it affecting approximately 7-9% of the population (which is a similar prevalence to dyslexia).

Children with language impairment frequently go unidentified because schools do not typically screen for language impairment.

It seems the general population is more forgiving of weak spoken language skills than weak reading skills. In other words, many schools are now screening and evaluating for difficulties in word recognition/decoding skills, but what about the other side of the equation? What about looking at oral language skills?

From the article “If We Don’t Look, We Won’t See: Measuring Language Development to Inform Literacy Instruction”, Dr. Suzanne Adlof (a past study group guest!) and Dr. Tiffany Hogan state:

Formal schooling should address language comprehension (in addition to word reading) to ensure an adequate foundation for future reading comprehension”. They further go on to say: “Measuring language skills early and often benefits not only those who have language impairment but also all children, as it documents language variability to inform differentiated instruction.

So, why should we be thinking about measuring language ability when thinking about reading?

Oral language skills set the stage for later academic success, in that oral language proficiency helps set the stage for later reading and writing ability.

(Adlof and Hogan, 2019)

Children with language impairment are six times more likely to have reading difficulties than their typically developing peers.

(Adlof and Hogan, 2019)

Adlof and Hogan (2019) also tell us there is an assumption that children who can appropriately engage in social situations, have conversations, and learn to read words have the necessary language skills to learn to comprehend text. But, the reality is that the linguistic demands of reading comprehension and understanding text are generally greater than the demands of oral language. Language weakness can be difficult to “spot”.

It seems like we might be missing a lot of students! Perhaps we should be looking at language ability just as carefully as we are looking at word decoding?

We know that on average, two children in every classroom have significant impairment in the ability to understand and use spoken language, despite otherwise normal development.

This is called Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). DLD affects approximately 7-9% of the population, yet it is largely underdiagnosed.

Children with language impairments may or may not meet diagnostic criteria for Developmental Language disorder, yet language weakness (no matter the severity) can have a significant impact on later literacy, academic, employment, health, and employment outcomes. If we look at language (in addition to word decoding) and identify language learning difficulties, we can plan appropriately for effective interventions in our schools.

When thinking about students who have significant language learning difficulties, they may meet criteria for DLD diagnosis.

Some facts about DLD

it makes listening and talking difficult
it affects approximately 2 children in every classroom
it is associated with dyslexia/reading difficulties, and other learning disabilities
it is associated with social-emotional, attentional, and behavioral concerns
it can have a significant effect on academic achievement

These facts make me wonder how many students who have been identified with behavioral issues or social-emotional difficulties also have an underlying, unidentified language impairment.

Some signs a child may have DLD include difficulties with:

making sense of long sentences
keeping their attention when people are talking
remembering everything said in a conversation
explaining an event or story

using the right words when talking answering questions

reading “between the lines”
reading and spelling words
following a group conversation and “jumping in” at the right time

The support of a Speech-Language Pathologist can help with identifying areas of strength and need, create goals and an intervention plan to improve spoken and written language skills.

DLD does not go away, but skills can improve with intervention and support from a knowledgeable team, including an SLP, parents, and teachers. Here are more resources to check out, in relation to DLD:

1. https://dldandme.org/signs-of-dld/
2. https://radld.org/about/dld/dld-fact-sheet/

Now, to discuss DLD and Reading outcomes.

Did you know DLD leads to later reading difficulties in 50-70% of children? What does it mean when we talk about reading difficulties or “Dyslexia”?

For simplicity’s sake, we can refer to Dyslexia as presenting with difficulty in the Word Recognition part of the reading equation. From the April 2020 tutorial “Structured Literacy Intervention for Students with Dyslexia: Focus on Growing Morphological Awareness”, Fallon and Katz indicate:

There is currently an ongoing debate about what dyslexia is and how dyslexia should be defined. What is more, very recently, questions have been raised about the utility of the diagnosis for determining the best course of intervention (see Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014). Although experts in the field continue to disagree about what to do with the term, dyslexia, both the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development are currently using the following definition:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

The authors indicate structured literacy practices, including building morphological awareness can be used when thinking about and planning for ALL students who struggle with language comprehension, including those with dyslexia/generalized reading issues.

The authors further state that:

If several linguistic processes (phonological, semantic, syntactic, orthographic, and morphological) under-lie reading and spelling abilities and given the clear spoken language basis of reading difficulties, SLPs should be active (and even leading) members of literacy service provision teams.

(Gauger & Lombardino, 2016; Hogan, 2018)

As SLPs, we are professionals highly trained in language development and disorders and are very much able to address issues and support children with reading and writing disorders.

Further Discussion

In the fall, we are excited to dive a little deeper into the role of morphological awareness (and multisyllable word-reading) as we look to support students in our community with both spoken AND written language difficulties.

As details are released, you can find them on the Events & Presentations page, follow along on my social media, or subscribe for updates to be sent directly to your inbox.