Specific Language Impairments and Overlap Sensory Integration Disorders – Are Additional Therapeutic Approaches Warranted?

Abstract

Specific Language Impairments, a class of language disorders characterized by delays to language acquisition in the absence of hearing loss or other obvious developmental delays, are often identified during the preschool years. While some initial difficulties seem to resolve as a child grows, current research identifies Language Impairments as a risk factor for to later academic difficulties often in reading and writing. According to the literature on Language Impairment, most proposed remediation focuses strictly on types of interventions tied directly to language acquisition and usage, such as phonological training as provided by Speech Language Pathologists (SLP). Literature in other fields, however, is emerging that suggests that the neurological problems leading to language impairments and an SLI diagnosis may not affect language areas in isolation after all, but also affect other areas of functioning, albeit in more subtle ways, due to impaired sensory integration. Research in the realm of neuroscience of learning suggests that such corollary cognitive difficulties should be taken into account when providing remediation. These research trends in other fields backs what educators in the field have known and practiced for a while. To wit, they lend credence to an individualized approach to special education for children with language difficulties.