Language, Communicative Participation, and Well‐Being in Young Children with (Presumed) Developmental Language Disorder

What is already known on the subject Children with DLD have problems acquiring language and communication skills. Alongside and related to these challenges, many children with DLD experience greater problems in SEF and lower levels of QoL, although there is considerable variation among children. Previous research has demonstrated that structural language abilities only explain a small part of the variance in well-being, and more functional language measures, such as pragmatic skills, play an important role. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study investigated whether the relation between language problems and well-being is mediated by children's ability to participate in communication (communicative participation). Structural equation modelling in a large, longitudinal sample of children with (presumed) DLD showed that communicative participation mediates the relationship between language abilities and both SEF and QoL. Better expressive grammatical skills were associated with better communicative participation, which in turn was related to higher SEF and QoL scores. Thus, the relation between language and well-being is mediated by how effectively children can communicate in daily life. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? For clinicians, this study underlines the importance of addressing communicative participation as a functional measure of language ability. Measuring communicative participation can aid in identifying a child's specific needs and determining the most suitable setting for providing support. Measuring communicative participation can also assist clinicians in setting treatment goals, evaluating intervention effects, and providing advice to parents and schools. Furthermore, this study underscores the importance of recognizing that early language difficulties can affect well-being.