Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 Aug;54(8):3008-3027. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-05946-3. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) often experience co-occurring psychosocial difficulties, the developmental trajectories of which are still not fully understood. This study sought to explore the manifestation of such difficulties during childhood, through first-hand accounts of those with DLD and their close relatives. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 mothers of children with DLD (aged 6-12 years old) and were analysed alongside the secondary data from interviews of five adults with DLD. Interviews were conducted online; all participants resided in Europe and were fluent in spoken and written English. A process of interpretive phenomenological analysis resulted in the development of five overall themes: experiencing anxiety, social frustrations, maintaining factors, childhood strengths and the parenting experience. Cognitive appraisals appeared particularly important during childhood in both escalating and maintaining anxiety, low self-esteem, emotion dysregulation and social frustrations. High levels of isolation and stress were experienced by all mothers. The findings suggest parents in the United Kingdom and Ireland require more support and guidance at the point of diagnosis than is currently provided. Emphasis was given to the link between children's experience of anxiety and social behaviours, such as withdrawal, as well as their intolerance of uncertainty. Internalising symptoms were a prioritisation for intervention during childhood by both parents and adults with DLD.
患有发育性语言障碍 (DLD) 的儿童通常会同时经历心理社会困难，但其发展轨迹仍不完全清楚。本研究旨在通过 DLD 儿童及其近亲的第一手资料来探讨这些困难在儿童时期的表现。对 11 名患有 DLD 儿童（年龄在 6-12 岁之间）的母亲进行了个人半结构化访谈，并对 5 名患有 DLD 的成年人的访谈的二级数据进行了分析。访谈是在线进行的；所有参与者都居住在欧洲，并且精通英语口语和书面语。解释现象学分析的过程得出了五个总体主题：经历焦虑、社交挫折、维持因素、童年优势和育儿经验。认知评价在儿童时期对于加剧和维持焦虑、自尊心低、情绪失调和社交挫折似乎尤为重要。所有母亲都经历了高度的孤立和压力。研究结果表明，英国和爱尔兰的父母在诊断时需要比目前提供的更多的支持和指导。研究强调了儿童焦虑体验与退缩等社交行为之间的联系，以及他们对不确定性的容忍度。内部症状是儿童时期父母和 DLD 成年人干预的优先事项。
