[Podcourse] From Evaluation to Impact: Supporting Students with Developmental Language

In this podcourse, we are joined by Kendal Martes, a Speech Language-Pathologist on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Kendal defines DLD as a common neurodevelopmental language disorder that affects spoken language processing/production and can impact academics, literacy, and social relationships, yet is often missed or mislabeled; DLD co-occurs with dyslexia about 50% of the time and with ADHD up to 75%. She outlines comprehensive evaluation components including case history, teacher/family input on functional impact, and standardized assessment with attention to subtests (e.g., TILLS), plus literacy measures (CTOPP, TOWRE, spelling, GORT). Using the Simple View of Reading, she explains how DLD relates to language comprehension and dyslexia to decoding, and recommends addressing both simultaneously. Strategies include improved screening, collaboration with educators, explicit intervention for vocabulary, syntax, narratives, and inferencing, and increased DLD awareness; she notes screeners like LanguageScreen and the free CUBED.