Phase 2 of CATALISE: a multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study of problems with language development: Terminology

Abstract

BackgroundLack of agreement about criteria and terminology for children's language problems affects access to services as well as hindering research and practice. We report the second phase of a study using an online Delphi method to address these issues. In the first phase, we focused on criteria for language disorder. Here we consider terminology.MethodsThe Delphi method is an iterative process in which an initial set of statements is rated by a panel of experts, who then have the opportunity to view anonymised ratings from other panel members. On this basis they can either revise their views or make a case for their position. The statements are then revised based on panel feedback, and again rated by and commented on by the panel. In this study, feedback from a second round was used to prepare a final set of statements in narrative form. The panel included 57 individuals representing a range of professions and nationalities.ResultsWe achieved at least 78% agreement for 19 of 21 statements within two rounds of ratings. These were collapsed into 12 statements for the final consensus reported here. The term ‘Language Disorder’ is recommended to refer to a profile of difficulties that causes functional impairment in everyday life and is associated with poor prognosis. The term, ‘Developmental Language Disorder’ (DLD) was endorsed for use when the language disorder was not associated with a known biomedical aetiology. It was also agreed that (a) presence of risk factors (neurobiological or environmental) does not preclude a diagnosis of DLD, (b) DLD can co‐occur with other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. ADHD) and (c) DLD does not require a mismatch between verbal and nonverbal ability.ConclusionsThis Delphi exercise highlights reasons for disagreements about terminology for language disorders and proposes standard definitions and nomenclature.

Depressive symptoms and emotion regulation strategies in children with and without developmental language disorder: a longitudinal study

“…1997), which was formerly referred to as specific language impairment (SLI) (for a discussion of DSM‐5 classification and terminology, see Bishop et al . 2017). DLD can severely impact on children's mental health, and an increased risk for depressive symptoms is consistently reported in this group.…”

“…Children with DLD experience problems in the content (semantics) and/or the form of language (phonology, morphology and syntax) (APA 2013, Bishop et al . 2017). Problems can occur in both receptive (e.g., understanding of word meanings or understanding the meaning of complex phrases) or expressive language (e.g., finding the right words to express ideas or production of grammatical sentences).…”

“…Additionally, children with DLD often also encounter difficulties using language in social interaction, that is pragmatics (APA 2013, Bishop et al . 2017, Norbury et al . 2004).…”

Insensitivity to response-contingent feedback in adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD)

“…Some commonly used terms include specific language impairment (SLI) or developmental language impairment (DLI). In the current study, the term developmental language disorder (DLD) is used as suggested in Bishop et al (2017). It refers to a profile of language difficulties that yields a barrier to effective functional communication (Reilly, Bishop, & Tomblin, 2014).…”

Speech and Language Therapy Services for Multilingual Children with Migration Background: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Germany

“…There is still an insufficient number of qualified multilingual clinicians, and a lack of systematic diagnostic tools, as standardized tests are generally biased in favor of individuals from the majority culture. This especially accounts for multilingual children with suspected DLD as language difficulties are not associated with a known biomedical condition [13]. Since there is no robust normative data for the tremendously diverse population of multilingual children, there is a higher risk that language assessments may overidentify, but also underidentify, or misidentify multilingual children [14].…”