Reading: The Overlooked Link Every Parent Should Understand
Understanding the hidden link between language delay and dyslexia
Research has established an important link between language delay and dyslexia. This link strongly indicates how early language delay can often predict a later struggle with literacy. Children with early language impairments are therefore at a higher risk of developing dyslexia. Despite strong evidence linking early language impairment to later literacy struggles, many children can miss out on timely support. Early intervention for language delay is key for helping develop children’s reading, writing and improving academic achievement.
What Are Pre-literacy Skills And How Can You Incorporate Them Into Your Daily Routine?
Before children learn to read and write, they build a foundation of pre-literacy skills — the essential building blocks that prepare them for reading and writing success. These skills develop through everyday interactions, play, and conversation long before formal schooling begins.
Understanding and nurturing preliteracy can make a profound difference, especially for children at risk of language delay or dyslexia.
Age 3-4: A Critical Window for Intervention
Children who start school with unresolved speech and language challenges face:
Difficulty understanding instructions and classroom routines
Struggles with literacy, social interaction, and emotional regulation
Increased risk of academic underachievement and behavioural issues
According to Speech and Language UK, children with unresolved language challenges are 6 to 11 times more likely to fall behind in key subjects, and twice as likely to be unemployed as young adults.
Speech Boom exists to interrupt this cycle — with timely, tailored support that meets children where they are.
Language, Friendship and Emotional Wellbeing: What the Research Tells Us
At Speech Boom, we believe every child deserves to be seen, heard, and celebrated. That’s why we’re always exploring the latest research to deepen our understanding of how language, relationships, and emotional wellbeing intertwine—especially for children with developmental language disorder (DLD).
Forrest et al. (2018) offers powerful insights into this connection. Using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, researchers followed children from age 5 to 14 to explore how early language difficulties shape emotional outcomes in adolescence.
What Did the Study Find?
Children identified as at risk for DLD at age 5 were significantly more likely to experience emotional difficulties at ages 7 and 14.
Just a Slow Start or Dyslexia?
The first few weeks of school often reveal new challenges — especially around reading, writing, and spelling. While some children simply need time to settle, others may be showing early signs of dyslexia. At Speech Boom, we help families understand the difference between a slow start or something else and provide early support through specialist lessons and assessments.
Why “Wait and See” Can Widen the Gap
Why “Wait and See” Can Widen the Gap
In speech and language development, waiting can mean missing a critical window — and widening the gap between children who thrive and those who fall behind.
Delayed support not only widens the gap but can lead children to feel alienated by their struggles — sometimes resulting in learned helplessness, where they stop believing improvement is possible.
According to Speech and Language UK, children with unresolved language challenges are 6 to 11 times more likely to fall behind in key subjects.