Do language disorders in childhood seal the mental health fate of grownups?

he association of language disorders (LDs) with mental disorders in children and adoT lescents has been well documented. Studies to date have focusedmostly on childrenwho speak English and other European languages, with our work documenting similar overlaps in Spanishspeaking and dual-language children. The evidence for this association is broad, spanning from clinical to epidemiologic, and from cross-sectional to longitudinal studies. Longitudinal studies have shown that LDs in the early school years predict (i.e., are risk factors for)psychopathology inmiddle childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. The overlap between psychiatric disorders and LDs in childhood presents a conundrum to the practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist with minimal to no training in child language development anddisorders, as psychiatrists rely heavily on linguistic exchange for their work, and their patients’ level of language competence often closely influences their success in therapy and adaptation. According to definitions of the American Speech Language Hearing Association and the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5, communication disorders include LDs and speech sound disorders (SSDs). By adding social (pragmatic) communication disorder, the DSM-5 communication disorders capture deficits in the four core domains of child language development. These developmental domains are: phonology and grammar (the “form” of language), semantics including vocabulary (the “content” of language), and pragmatics (the social “use” of language). TheDSM-5 defines LDs as persistent difficulties in the acquisition and use of language owing to deficits in comprehending or producing language in terms of vocabulary, grammar, or discourse. These individuals present with language abilities that are “substantially and quantifiably” below age expectations, typically documented through standardized language testing, with scores decreasing 1.25, 1.5, or (as defined by the International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision) 2 standard