Spoken language delay in toddlerhood predicts late childhood language outcomes in dyslexia: evidence from retrospective parent-report.

Some children are slower than average to acquire early spoken language milestones. Little is known about how this heterogeneity in expressive language impacts later childhood language and reading outcomes in children with dyslexia. We investigated oral language and reading differences in 63 children with dyslexia aged 8-12 years, comparing those with (35%) and without (65%) a prior history of delayed two-word phrase production (beyond 24 months of age). All children subsequently acquired fluent spoken language. Language outcome measures included standardized tests of current sound awareness, rapid picture naming, memory for words, and sentence repetition. Current single word and paragraph reading abilities were measured using standardized timed and untimed tests. Results indicated that both groups showed comparable single word and paragraph reading performance in middle childhood. Those with early spoken language delay had poorer sentence repetition and memory for words than those who used two-word phrases by 24-months. Our findings point to distinct language contributions to dyslexia in children with and without a history of early spoken language acquisition difficulties, underscoring the importance of considering early language milestones in this population.