The study on SLI (Specific Language Impairment) is really commendable and deserves attention fromparents and teachers. Look at the number of children involved.
Thousands of them. (Incidentally, millions of beauty products are sold with results quoted from fewer than 50 subjects…)
It should be noted that SLI or Specific Language Impairment is not the same as dyslexia. There are many technical definitions of dyslexia but the most easily understood is that it is a specific difficulty in reading, writing and spelling.
(Incidentally, the use of the word ‘specific’, whether it’s in ‘Specific’ Language Impairment, or ‘specific’ difficulty in reading, means that it is not due to intellectual or IQ deficiency nor sensory impairment such as visual problems or hearing problems. In other words, if someone is diagnosed with SLI or dyslexia, that does not mean s/he has an intellectual impairment, slow or stupid.)
Entire shelves of books can and have been written about the overlap or differences between SLI and dyslexia. Here I would just like to highlight the importance of parents watching out for difficulties.
A child may have no expressive language difficulty and is able to talk and express himself well verbally, and yet have dyslexia in the sense that he can’t read a printed word aloud.
Conversely, there may be children who seem to be able to read printed words well, and even sound like a fluent reader reading entire stories, but they may have language impairment in the form of difficulty understanding spoken instructions and/or have difficulty expressing themselves.
An overwhelming number of research studies find reading problems in children with SLI and also the reverse, dyslexic children having a history of earlier language developmental difficulties.
In summary, what we as speech and language therapists would like parents to note are as follows:
1. Appearing to have either good speech skills or good reading skills does not mean the child will definitely not have difficulty with the other area. If in doubt, observe your child, get feedback from others and consult professionals if necessary for peace of mind.
2. Seek early intervention for language difficulties. A child speaking slower than his peers may not seem a big deal when he’s two or three, but there’s strong research evidence that this may reflect underlying difficulties that could mean your child struggling with reading and consequently other school work too such as Mathematics. (See the SLI study)