Types of Language Disorders in Students Classified as ED: Prevalence and Association with Learning Disabilities and Psychopathology

• Published in: Education & treatment of children 2009-11, Vol.32 (4), p.631-653
• Main Authors: Benner, Gregory J., Mattison, Richard E., Nelson, J. Ron, Ralston, Nicole C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; At Risk Students; Behavioral disorders; Care and treatment; Child behavior disorders; Child psychopathology; Children; Children & youth; Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals III; Comparative Analysis; Correlation; Diagnosis; Disability; Disorders; Education; Emotional Disturbances; Evaluation; Expressive Language; Incidence; Intelligence quotient; Language disorders; Language Impairments; Learning Disabilities; Learning disabled; Learning disabled persons; Mood disorders; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Psychopathology; Public Schools; Reading; Receptive Language; School psychologists; Severity (of Disability); Social interaction; Special Needs Students; Standard deviation; Students; Studies; Teachers; Urban schools; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
• ISSN: 0748-8491; 1934-8924; 1934-8924
• DOI: 10.1353/etc.0.0077

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of four types of language disorders among public school students (N = 152) classified as Emotional Disturbance (ED). We also examined the association of the types of language disorders experienced by these students with specific learning disabilities and clinical levels of specific types of psychopathology. Nearly 66% of the students with ED experienced a language disorder, with combined receptive-expressive disorders being the most common (35.5%). Students with a language disorder, particularly combined receptive-expressive disorder, showed significantly poorer achievement and more learning disabilities (LD) in all areas compared to students with no language disorder. Furthermore, 91.3% of the students with any LD also had a language disorder. Types of language disorders were not significantly distinguished by psychopathology, although severity was serious in both students with and without a language disorder. These findings have implications for the identification and treatment of language disorders in students classified ED.