Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2009 Jul-Aug;44(4):511-28. doi: 10.1080/13682820802708098.
The few studies that have tracked children with developmental language disorder to adulthood have found that these individuals experience considerable difficulties with psychosocial adjustment (for example, academic, vocational and social aptitude). Evidence that some children also develop autistic symptomatology over time has raised suggestions that developmental language disorder may be a high-functioning form of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is not yet clear whether these outcomes vary between individuals with different subtypes of language impairment.
To compare the adult psychosocial outcomes of children with specific language impairment (SLI), pragmatic language impairment (PLI) and ASD.
METHODS & PROCEDURES: All participants took part in research as children. In total, there were 19 young adults with a childhood history of Specific Language Impairment (M age = 24;8), seven with PLI (M age = 22;3), 11 with high functioning ASD (M age = 21;9) and 12 adults with no history of developmental disorder (Typical; n = 12; M age = 21;6). At follow-up, participants and their parents were interviewed to elicit information about psychosocial outcomes.
OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Participants in the SLI group were most likely to pursue vocational training and work in jobs not requiring a high level of language/literacy ability. The PLI group tended to obtain higher levels of education and work in 'skilled' professions. The ASD participants had lower levels of independence and more difficulty obtaining employment than the PLI and SLI participants. All groups had problems establishing social relationships, but these difficulties were most prominent in the PLI and ASD groups. A small number of participants in each group were found to experience affective disturbances. The PLI and SLI groups showed lower levels of autistic symptomatology than the ASD group.
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The between-group differences in autistic symptomatology provide further evidence that SLI, PLI, and ASD are related disorders that vary along qualitative dimensions of language structure, language use and circumscribed interests. Childhood diagnosis showed some relation to adult psychosocial outcome. However, within-group variation highlights the importance of evaluating children on a case-by-case basis.
少数跟踪有发育性语言障碍的儿童到成年的研究发现，这些人在社会心理适应方面存在相当大的困难（例如，学业、职业和社交能力）。随着时间的推移，一些儿童也会出现自闭症症状的证据表明，发育性语言障碍可能是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一种高功能形式。目前尚不清楚这些结果是否因语言障碍的不同亚型个体而异。
比较特定语言障碍（SLI）、语用语言障碍（PLI）和自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的成人社会心理结局。
所有参与者都曾作为儿童参与过研究。共有 19 名有特定语言障碍（SLI）儿童史的年轻人（M 年龄=24；8），7 名有语用语言障碍（PLI）儿童史的年轻人（M 年龄=22；3），11 名高功能自闭症（ASD）儿童史的年轻人（M 年龄=21；9）和 12 名无发育障碍史的成年人（典型；n=12；M 年龄=21；6）。在随访时，对参与者及其父母进行了访谈，以收集有关社会心理结局的信息。
SLI 组的参与者最有可能接受职业培训并从事不需要高水平语言/读写能力的工作。PLI 组倾向于获得更高水平的教育并从事“熟练”职业。ASD 组的参与者在获得就业方面的独立性较低，比 PLI 和 SLI 组更困难。所有组都在建立社会关系方面存在问题，但这些困难在 PLI 和 ASD 组中最为突出。每个组中都有少数参与者被发现有情感障碍。PLI 和 SLI 组的自闭症症状水平低于 ASD 组。
组间自闭症症状的差异进一步提供了证据，表明 SLI、PLI 和 ASD 是相关的障碍，它们在语言结构、语言使用和特定兴趣的质量维度上有所不同。儿童期诊断与成年社会心理结局有一定关系。然而，组内的变异突出了逐个评估儿童的重要性。
