Characteristic Profile of Language Learning Disorders (LLD)
Phonology
• No obvious errors in
speech production.
• Higher prevalence of
speech disorders in
children with LLD (25%)
• Poor reading outcomes for
severe phonological
disorders
• Affects acquisition of
spelling
• Difficulty with phonological
processing  speech
perception, phonological
memory, and phonological
awareness
• Believed to have
“underground” deficits in
phonological processing
that impact learning to
read, memory, and
semantics.
Morphosyntax
• Deficits in comprehension
and production of complex
syntax
• Comprehension difficulties
with relative clauses,
passive voice, negation.
• Limited errors in speech;
errors higher than TD.
• Errors in writing higher.
• Language simple or
immature but sentences
may be longer due to less
complex forms.
• Use fewer complex
sentences, less noun and
verb phrase elaboration,
prepositional phrases, and
clauses.
• Morphological problems –
plurals, possessives, thirdperson singular,
comparatives, superlatives,
irregulars, and prefixes and
suffices.
• Difficulty with pronouns
and subject-verb
agreement.
Note: Often suffers from Matthew effect.
Semantics
• Small vocabularies
restricted to highfrequency, short words.
• Deficits likely related to
reading.
• Word meanings are
restricted with poor
development of
associations and
categorizations.
• Difficulty with multiple
meaning words and
figurative language.
• Overuse of empty words
(e.g. thing, stuff).
• Word-retrieval deficits 
substitutions and
circumlocutions.
• Difficulty with complex oral
directions.
Pragmatics
• Conversational pragmatics
significant deficit in oral
language of LLD.
• Limited talking judged to
be brief and unelaborated
• Prone to false starts,
mazes, and dysfluency.
• More hostile, less assertive,
less persuasive, less polite
and tactful, less clear and
complete.
• Trouble with
communication breakdown
– clarifying and requesting
information.
• Less sensitive to listeners
needs, provides incomplete
or inaccurate information,
and demonstrates difficulty
adjusting speech to
audience.
• Difficulty with narrative
recall, generation
characterized by shorter
stories with fewer
complete episodes,
complex sentences, limited
vocabulary and less overall
organization.
Social/Emotional/Attention
• Less accepted by peers
and suffers peer rejection.
• Difficulty developing
reciprocal friendship and
gaining admittance to
social groups.
• If they joint a group –
tends to be friends with
similar behaviors.
• Poor social skills with
higher levels of problem
behaviors.
• Lag behind peers in
developing emotion
knowledge with difficulty
regulating emotions.
• More withdrawn with
increased levels of
loneliness and depression.
• Behavioral and emotional
difficulties make it harder
for them to benefic from
instruction.
• Often ADHD with short
attention spans, low
frustration tolerance,
inability to recognize
consequences of actions.
(25%)