Exploring Self-Reported Quality of Life in Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a lifelong condition associated with poorer outcomes than neurotypical peers, yet relatively little is known about long-term quality of life in DLD. This preliminary study adopts a neurodiversity-informed approach by exploring Method: Participants were five individuals with DLD aged 12-20 years ( Results: Participants generally reported positive views about their quality of life, although accessing accommodations and health services emerged as barriers. Relatively better grammaticality judgment performance appeared to be linked with poorer ratings of happiness and the ability to "be yourself." Nonverbal ability represented a potential risk factor, although there may be a stronger cumulative role for risk factors. Conclusions: Participants with DLD reported relatively good quality of life. Exploratory findings suggest barriers to quality of life in some contexts, as well as roles for individual differences in language and risk factors. These descriptive findings should be examined in larger scale studies and may represent areas of consideration when clinicians address functional challenges that impact mental health and well-being in individuals with DLD.