Language Acquisition and Language Impairment in Children with and without Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Language is innate to humans—and mastery of this ability is achieved by young children. However, language does not develop typically in some individuals, interfering with communication and, ultimately, with learning and academics. Language impairment can affect a child’s reading, writing, and speaking, leading to lifelong consequences. Language abilities can be impaired in the absence of disorders such as hearing impairment, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorder; sometimes, language impairment is comorbid with them. There is great complexity in understanding neural networks and the genetic factors in language acquisition. Twin studies have demonstrated significant heritability estimates (up to 0.92), suggesting genetics play a vital role in language acquisition in children. Family studies indicate an accumulation of language impairment in related individuals, and advanced genetic tools have begun to present genes associated with language impairment. The causes of language impairment are largely unknown, with solid agreement with regard to the involvement of biological and neuronal factors. This Special Issue aims to capture various approaches to understanding language development in children and their molecular and neural studies. We also welcome basic and translational research in this area of study.

Dr. Muhammad Hashim Raza
Guest Editor

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• language acquisition in children
• psycholinguistics in language acquisition in children
• specific language impairment
• developmental language disorder
• language development in children with autism
• genetics
• longitudinal studies
• family-based and case–control studies
• behavioral studies
• intervention or translational studies
• social and developmental issues in children with language impairment