Specific Risk Factors Associated With Developmental Language Disorder Among Preschoolers From a Psychiatric Sample

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Introduction: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 7,5% of preschoolers (Norbury et al., 2016). Early intervention has been shown to predict greater treatment efficiency (Roberts & Kaiser, 2015). However, DLD’s risk factors in early childhood remain largely unknown partly due to high rates of comorbidities and shared underlying etiologies of developmental disorders (Mash & Hayden, 2014). Considering that most of the studies regarding DLD’s risk factors were made on population samples, it is therefore important to know which factors are specific to DLD in clinical samples.
Objective: The present study aims to document family and individual risk factors associated specifically with DLD at preschool age by comparing the characteristics of children diagnosed with DLD to those without a DLD diagnosis within a large psychiatric sample.
Methods: Medical records of 931 patients (Age: M = 4:11 years old ± 1:6 SD ; Sex ratio : 25,1% girls and 74,9 % boys) assessed between 2000 and 2015 at an early childhood outpatient psychiatric clinic were reviewed. Sociodemographic characteristics, perinatal conditions, developmental milestones and DSM-IV-TR diagnoses were extracted from clinical archives with approval of the institution’s administration and ethical committee.
Results: Lower mother’s education (F = 4,13, p < 0,05) and living in a blended family (χ2 = 12,50, p < 0,05) were associated with DLD while number of siblings or parental age were not. As for individual characteristics, child’s age (F = 4,03, p < 0,05), later acquisition of developmental milestones (fist words (F = 19,55, p < 0,001), first sentences (F = 76,29, p < 0,001), toilet training (F = 13,29, p < 0,001), eating independently (F = 13,00, p < 0,001)) and overall number of diagnoses were associated with DLD (in average 2,94 diagnoses for children with DLD versus 2,02 for children without DLD; F = 185,94, p < 0,001). Child gender and perinatal conditions were not significantly associated with DLD.
Conclusions: Among preschoolers consulting in a psychiatric clinic, children diagnosed with DLD show several distinct characteristics. Results indicate that children with later acquisition of developmental milestones and specific environmental conditions (parental education and family structure) should be closely monitored for language impairment and that presence of DLD is associated with more diagnoses. Family risk factors are congruent with the literature. As for individual factors, recent research showed that DLD is associated with other developmental delays (Mash & Hayden, 2014). Higher rates of comorbidities associated with DLD emphasize the magnitude of the difficulties that these children are experiencing and the importance to exhaustively assess their functioning. Identifying specific characteristics associated with DLD in the early age is necessary to adequately target at-risk preschoolers. This study brings significant contributions due to the rarity of large clinical samples. Future research should integrate these factors in a combined model for a better understanding of their interaction in the development of psychopathology.

Authors

• Florence Valade, University of Montreal
  Presenting Author

• Marie-Julie Béliveau, Université de Montréal (UdeM)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Claude Berthiaume
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alexanne Lessard
  Non-Presenting Author