Spoken Language Assessment Within Dyslexia Evaluations

Dyslexia is a reading disability characterized by poor decoding skills (Snowling, 2020). Specific language impairment (SLI) is defined as difficulty acquiring language despite adequate intelligence and adequate opportunity to learn language (Tomblin et al., 1997). Although dyslexia and specific language impairment (SLI) are distinct disorders, it is common for them to co-occur (Catts et al., 2005; Snowling et al., 2019). Spoken language assessment is critical for differential diagnosis of dyslexia, SLI, and co-occurring dyslexia and SLI. The purpose of this preliminary, exploratory study is to answer the following research questions:

1. What proportion of children diagnosed with dyslexia were given a language measure?

2. If a language measure was given, which domain(s) of language were assessed?