Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a language impairment in which children experience persistent language difficulties that impact their quality of life without a clear etiology (Bishop et al., 2016, 2017). The disorder is estimated to affect approximately 7.5% of the population (Norbury et al., 2016) and may influence individuals socially (Conti-Ramsden et al., 2013), academically (Johnson et al., 2010), and emotionally (Botting et al., 2016). Despite its high prevalence and potential consequences, awareness of DLD remains limited worldwide. Consensus on the diagnostic label and criteria for DLD was only recently proposed (Bishop et al., 2016, 2017).
Most available research on DLD has focused on widely studied languages such as English (Rice & Wexler, 1996; van der Lely, 1994), French (Maillart & Schelstraete, 2009; Paradis & Crago, 2001; Thordardottir & Namazi, 2007), and Spanish (Bedore & Leonard, 2001, 2005; Grinstead et al., 2013; Jacobson & Schwartz, 2002). Cross-linguistic research highlights that the manifestation of DLD varies depending on the typology of the language studied (Leonard, 2014). Consequently, investigating less frequently studied languages allows for a deeper understanding of typological influences on DLD and supports the provision of research-based services tailored to specific linguistic populations.
This thesis investigated DLD through two phases. Phase One explored the perspectives, practices, and experiences of speech–language therapists (SLTs) in Saudi Arabia. Phase Two examined the linguistic profiles of Arabic-speaking children with DLD who speak the Hijazi dialect, with a focus on narrative macrostructure and the comprehension and production of Arabic plurals. Findings from Phase One provided important insights into the current context of DLD in Saudi Arabia, while Phase Two demonstrated that both narrative macrostructure and plural marking differentiated Arabic-speaking children with DLD from their age-matched peers, but not from their language-matched peers. The results are discussed with reference to both clinical and theoretical implications.
