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The Progression of Developmental Language Disorder Terminology: A Scoping Review of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Journals.

Miriam Kornelis,HaeJi Lee,Amy Riegelman,L. Finestack

Published 2025 in Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE A 2017 CATALISE project resulted in consensus on using the term "developmental language disorder" (DLD) to describe children with unexplained language impairment. Since then, it is unclear how researchers have identified DLD and implemented DLD terminology. The current study is a scoping review to better understand the implementation of DLD terminology. METHOD We identified studies (N = 265) published in American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) journals between 2017 and 2024 that included individuals with communication difficulties in the area of language not secondary to another etiology. We extracted key information regarding study purpose and participant identification from each publication. RESULTS Across all publications, 58% included the term "DLD" to describe their participant(s), 22% included "specific language impairment" (SLI), 12% included "language impairment" (LI), and 8% included other terms. The majority of publications served to better understand the profile of individuals with DLD, evaluate an intervention, or report on a measurement tool related to identification of the condition. There was significant variation in the developmental domains (e.g., cognitive, social, sensory) considered when diagnosing DLD across research publications. CONCLUSIONS This scoping review demonstrates the adoption and implementation of the term "DLD" in ASHA publications. Future efforts should prioritize increasing the consistency of identification of DLD in research, advocating for use of DLD terminology in clinical contexts, and supporting clinicians' knowledge, identification, assessment, intervention, and advocacy related to DLD. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28508936.

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