Experts agree on new terms for children's language disorders
In short: A study using the Delphi method surveyed a panel of 57 professionals from multiple countries and disciplines to resolve disagreements about how children's language difficulties should be named and defined. After two rounds of ratings and feedback, the panel reached at least 78% agreement on 19 of 21 proposed statements, which were then consolidated into a final set of recommendations.
The panel recommends 'Language Disorder' for difficulties linked to functional impairment and poor prognosis, and 'Developmental Language Disorder' (DLD) when there's no known biomedical explanation. They agreed DLD can occur alongside conditions such as ADHD, that risk factors don't rule out a DLD diagnosis, and that DLD doesn't require a gap between verbal and nonverbal ability.
This is a structured expert-consensus exercise, not a clinical trial, so it reflects professional agreement on definitions rather than evidence from studying children directly.
Why it matters: Clearer, shared terms for children's language disorders could help improve diagnosis, services and research consistency.
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