Disorders of Language and Literacy Across Learning Contexts

A child struggling in school causes concern. Difficulties with school tasks can leave children frustrated and parents and teachers wondering why they are not learning. Indeed, school underachievement is one of the most common reasons for referral to a visiting specialist in school or to a child guidance clinic. Underachievement may arise for many different reasons. In this chapter we will focus on difficulties of language and literacy, noting that many children with such difficulties also struggle with maths. The rationale for our focus is that language and literacy are the foundation for learning across school systems — here we present a global perspective on the critical issues of how to identify, assess, prevent, and remediate such difficulties, the symptoms of which may differ according to the language of schooling and the learning context. We will also consider underachievement when it is secondary to another condition focusing on a small selection of co-occurring (comorbid) disorders. Sections on assessment and intervention focus on the current evidence base. We close the chapter with a discussion of priorities that low-income communities can set for the educational management of children with learning difficulties.