Language disorders in children: Complementary role of child psychiatrists and speech-language pathologists

Abstract

The high prevalence of developmental and psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with language disorders calls for a multidisciplinary approach to assessment and management. More specifically, this study aimed to provide an overview of the complementary role of child psychiatrists in the assessment and management of children and adolescents with language disorders. Case vignette-based discussion has been chosen as a pedagogical methodology to highlight practical concerns during clinical practice. In language disorders, comorbidity is a rule rather than an exception. This diagnostic overlap is not limited to one-time point in development but is likely to occur across the lifespan. Understanding and teasing out complex relationships between language disorders, and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric comorbidities are an important step in assessment, diagnosis, and management. Language disorders may pose social disadvantages in developmental tasks such as peer relationships and learning difficulties. Children with language impairment may show considerable improvement with early intervention and may come in contact with the clinician later during childhood or adolescence, with concerns primarily related to comorbid disorders such as anxiety or depression and consequent decompensation in functionality. It would be prudent for clinicians to educate families about the longitudinal nature of language disorders and their cascading impact on overall developmental and mental health outcomes of the child. Professionals of various disciplines working with neurodevelopmental disorders, where the common interests related to the etiology and biological underpinnings of the interventions are the atypical development of the central nervous system, are best considered “clinical neuroscientists.” Consistent attempts over time and transcending interdisciplinary boundaries as a “clinical neuroscientist” will result in a coordinated team that places the best interest of the given child and the family as central.