Did you know?
More than 7% of the population has DLD (dysphasia). This represents about 2 students per classroom.
Here are the differences between DLD, a language disorder (LD), and a language delay.
DLD or Dysphasia?
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is the new term for dysphasia. In September 2017, the Order of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists of Quebec (OOAQ) began using this term.
Other terms used for Developmental Language Disorder include:
Dysphasia
Primary Language Disorder
Audimuteness
Congenital Aphasia
These terms all mean the same thing. It is the same diagnosis.
What is DLD?
DLD is a neurodevelopmental disorder present from birth. The severity varies from person to person.
DLD can bring several language difficulties that affect both comprehension and expression.
Examples include:
Using and understanding words
Understanding instructions and being able to follow them
Knowing what to answer to a question
Formulating clear sentences
Learning new information and generalizing it
Telling a story or event in the correct order
Understanding and following “social rules”
Socializing appropriately
Making friends and maintaining social relationships
Producing speech sounds
*Source : Le trouble développemental du langage (TDL) | Anciennement dysphasie | OOAQ
Other diagnoses, associated disorders, may occur alongside DLD
Speech disorders : The person has difficulties that affect different aspects of speech, such as:
- Articulation : How the parts of our mouth are positioned to produce sounds
- Fluency: How smoothly ideas come out when we speak
- Voice production : The sound that comes out of our mouth when we talk
*Source: Medical council of canada
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) : “The person has difficulty planning and controlling movements. Individuals may appear more clumsy. This disorder may affect both fine and gross motor skills.”
- Fine motor skills : Difficulty making precise movements, such as cutting a shape with scissors or washing and drying dishes
- Gross motor skills : Difficulty jumping, walking, running, handling objects like a ball, balancing, etc.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) :The person has difficulty perceiving and processing different sounds. Their brain does not properly process the sounds that the ears hear.
Speech Sound Disorder (SSD)
Developmental Dyslexia
Specific Learning Disorder(dyslexia, dysorthographia, dyscalculia)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Behavioral Disorders: The person may have inappropriate reactions, such as:
- Opposing
- Arguing
- Being aggressive
Other difficulties may accompany DLD
Visual perception difficulties: The person has trouble understanding what they see. It becomes even harder when there is a lot of visual information.
Spatial orientation difficulties: The person struggles to navigate places - finding their way or knowing where they are.
Difficulty with abstraction: The person has difficulty identifying what information is important when there is a lot to process.
Difficulty with generalization: The person has trouble applying previously learned information to a new or different situation.
Difficulty perceiving time: The person has difficulty understanding time—estimating, organizing, or locating themselves in time.
Sensory difficulties: The person may be more sensitive (hypersensitive) or less sensitive (hyposensitive). Sensory difficulties may relate to touch/textures, noise/sounds, smells, or light.
Executive Functions and DLD
We often think that people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) only have difficulty speaking or understanding.
That is false!
Executive functions are also affected.
What is an executive function?
Executive functions help us learn, organize, and control:
Our behaviors
Our thoughts
Our emotions
Examples of executive functions
Attention:
Being able to concentrate and ignore unimportant things.Memory:
Being able to remember information or keep it in mind.Flexibility:
Being able to find new solutions to problems.Organization:
Being able to plan ideas and actions.Inhibition:
Being able to stop our actions or words - like a filter that prevents us from saying or doing everything that comes to mind.
Examples of everyday difficulties related to executive functions:Voici des exemples de difficultés de la vie quotidienne qui sont liées aux fonctions exécutives:
1) Managing money
Money management may be difficult for someone with DLD. It requires executive functions such as:
Inhibition
Memory
Organization
2) Hygiene
Maintaining good hygiene can be difficult for someone with DLD. It requires executive functions such as:
Organization
Flexibility
Memory
3) At school or work
A person with DLD may face many difficulties in school or work environments. These settings require a lot of energy and rely heavily on executive functions such as:
Organization
Flexibility
Attention
Inhibition
Memory
Frequently Asked Questions
No, severity varies from person to person. It is difficult to describe a single profile for someone with DLD because everyone is different. However, all people with DLD experience these five difficulties:
Language disorders
Auditory perception disorder
Difficulty with abstraction
Difficulty generalizing information
Difficulty perceiving time
According to the Order of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists of Quebec (OOAQ), 7% of the population has DLD. That equals 1 person out of 14, or about 2 children per classroom.
Yes. If someone in your family has DLD, your child is 2 to 7 times more likely to have DLD. DLD can be partially hereditary.
What is a hereditary disorder?
A hereditary disorder means the condition can come from family genetics. DLD can be passed from a parent to a child.
To help someone with DLD better understand, you can:
Check understanding by asking, “What did you understand?”
Use simple words
Emphasize important words
Repeat if requested, without getting impatient
Speak more slowly
Use positive sentences — for example, say “walk slowly” instead of “don’t run,” because negation is harder to process
Use visual supports
To help a child with DLD speak better, you can:
Describe everyday objects and actions — this helps the child learn more words
Speak to the child often
Repeat words and sentences, correcting errors gently by emphasizing the right word without saying it’s wrong.
Example: if the child says, “eat the carrot,” the parent can respond, “Yes, he is eating the carrot.”Say correct sentences without forcing the child to repeat them
*Source : Chu Sainte-Justine, Troubles du langage, outils et conseils, stimuler le langage de monenfant
Yes. DLD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, meaning the brain of a person with DLD is built differently. A person with DLD can improve and develop coping strategies. In adulthood, challenges remain, but the person may manage them better by using their strategies effectively.
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