Specificity of specific language impairment

In children with specific language impairment (SLI) their problems are supposed to be specifically restricted to language. However, both on a theoretical basis as well as on a practical basis it is often difficult to make a sharp distinction between specific and nonspecific language disorders. In a three-step study we found in the first place that in a group of children with supposed SLI (n = 319), after multidisciplinary examination, only in 25 % of the cases the diagnosis SLI was correct. Secondly we found that after a period of time children with correctly diagnosed SLI showed problems with attention, motor functioning and school achievement. Thirdly we found that the learning difficulties of the children were related to their previous language problems. We hypothesize that SLI is less specific than is generally assumed. It could be a part of a neuropsychological 'syndrome' in which neurological maturation is jeopardized