Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a common reading disability, affecting 5% to 11% of children in North America. Children classified as having DD often have a history of early language delay (ELD) or language impairments. Nevertheless, studies have reported conflicting results as to the association between DD-ELD and the extent of current language difficulties in children with DD. To examine these relationships, we queried the parents of school-aged children with reading difficulties on their child’s early and current language ability. Siblings were also examined. Children were directly assessed using quantitative tests of language and reading skills. To compare this study with the literature, we divided the sample (N = 674) into three groups: DD, intermediate readers (IR), and skilled readers (SR). We found a significant association between DD and ELD, with parents of children in the DD/IR groups reporting their children put words together later than the SR group. We also found a significant association between DD and language difficulties, with children with low reading skills having low expressive/receptive language abilities. Finally, we identified early language predicted current language, which predicted reading skills. These data contribute to research indicating that children with DD experience language difficulties, suggesting early recognition may help identify reading problems.

发育性阅读障碍 (DD) 是一种常见的阅读障碍，影响北美 5% 至 11% 的儿童。归类为 DD 的儿童通常有早期语言延迟 (ELD) 或语言障碍的病史。然而，研究报告了关于 DD-ELD 与 DD 儿童当前语言困难程度之间关联的相互矛盾的结果。为了检验这些关系，我们向有阅读困难的学龄儿童的父母询问了他们孩子早期和当前的语言能力。还检查了兄弟姐妹。使用语言和阅读技能的定量测试直接评估儿童。为了将本研究与文献进行比较，我们将样本（N= 674) 分为三组：DD、中级读者 (IR) 和熟练读者 (SR)。我们发现 DD 和 ELD 之间存在显着关联，DD/IR 组中孩子的父母报告说他们的孩子比 SR 组更晚地拼词。我们还发现 DD 与语言困难之间存在显着关联，阅读能力低的儿童表达/接受语言能力低。最后，我们确定了预测阅读技能的早期语言预测当前语言。这些数据有助于研究表明患有 DD 的儿童会遇到语言困难，这表明早期识别可能有助于识别阅读问题。