Grammatical Deficits in Children with Language Disorder
A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 27
Special Issue Editors
Interests: language learning; language deficits in children; literacy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite contributions to a Special Issue of Languages on grammatical deficits in children with language disorder. Our aim is to bring together studies that (i) document how grammatical difficulties manifest in a variety of languages, (ii) advance theoretical explanations of these deficits and (iii) evaluate language interventions that alleviate grammatical problems in children with language disorder. Our scope is intentionally broad within this overarching theme.
We are committed to inclusivity. As Evans and Garcia (2022) highlight, research on child language (including language disorders) is dominated by English and a handful of well-studied Indo-European languages, leaving the linguistic characteristics of grammatical deficits in child language disorder in many other languages underexplored. We therefore particularly welcome submissions on underresearched languages (without excluding English). We also encourage work on children who present language difficulties with or without co-occurring conditions (such as developmental dyslexia, ADHD or ASD), reflecting evidence that language disorders occur in a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders (Westerlund et al., 2002). Building an evidence base on grammatical deficits in these varied contexts will support more accurate diagnosis and better-targeted intervention.
We welcome empirical, theoretical, and intervention studies. Given rapid methodological advances, we also invite research exploring whether and how AI-based tools can support the assessment or treatment of grammatical difficulties in children (see Balthazar et al., 2020, for approaches to grammar intervention).
Submissions
Please submit a proposed title and a 400–600-word abstract outlining the intended contribution before full manuscript submission. Send abstracts to the Guest Editors (J.E.Rispens@uva.nl; lukacs.agnes@ttk.bme.hu) or the Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be screened by the Guest Editors for fit with the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Tentative Completion Schedule
Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 October 2025
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 1 December 2025
Full Manuscript Deadline: 30 April 2026
We look forward to hearing from you.
References
Balthazar, C. H., Ebbels, S., & Zwitserlood, R. (2020). Explicit grammatical intervention for developmental language disorder: Three approaches. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(2), 226-246.
Kidd, E., & Garcia, R. (2022). How diverse is child language acquisition research? First Language, 42(6), 703-735.
Westerlund, M., Bergkvist, L., Lagerberg, D., & Sundelin, C. (2002). Comorbidity in children with severe developmental language disability. Acta Paediatrica, 91(5), 529-534.
Prof. Dr. Judith Rispens
Prof. Dr. Agnes Lukacs
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- language acquisition
- grammatical deficits
- developmental language disorders
- under-researched languages
- typological diversity
- language interventions
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