Specific language impairment

Specific language impairment is a childhood-onset disorder marked by persistent difficulty acquiring and using language, not explained by hearing loss, intellectual disability, or a known biomedical condition.

Developmental language disorder: A persistent difficulty learning and using language that begins during development and interferes with everyday communication. This newer, broader diagnostic label overlaps substantially with specific language impairment.
Developmental language disorder in children: A childhood presentation of persistent language-learning difficulties affecting communication and participation. Childhood cases illustrate the developmental profile captured by the older label.
Statistical learning: The ability to detect patterns and regularities in sequences through experience. Researchers investigate whether reduced pattern learning contributes to language acquisition difficulties.
Hearing loss: Reduced ability to detect or perceive sounds, including speech. Hearing loss can cause language difficulties but is excluded as their explanation in the classic definition.
Literacy: The ability to read and write effectively. Spoken-language weaknesses can complicate later reading comprehension and written expression.
Language acquisition: The process by which people learn to understand and produce language. The disorder is defined by difficulty mastering this developmental process.
Specific language impairment and grammar: A profile in which grammatical morphology and sentence structure are particularly difficult to acquire. Grammar difficulties have been a prominent research marker of the condition.
Procedural deficit hypothesis: A theory linking some developmental language difficulties to weaknesses in brain systems supporting procedural learning. It proposes a mechanism for difficulties learning grammatical patterns.
Intellectual disability: A developmental condition involving significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. The classic label required language difficulties not explained by general intellectual disability.
Academic achievement: Performance and attainment in formal educational settings. Language demands across subjects can affect school learning and assessment.

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