The review is intended for researchers and professionals who want to look beyond their own discipline. It examines how language and reading difficulties develop, what different areas of science contribute to understanding them, and what this means for supporting children.
Genetic and environmental influences
Language and reading skills vary continuously across the population. Diagnoses such as DLD and dyslexia identify children who experience substantial difficulties towards the lower end of these distributions.
Twin studies show that genetic differences explain a substantial proportion of the variation in children’s language and reading skills. Genetic and environmental influences are closely intertwined: children differ both in the language input and education they receive and in how they learn from them. Genetic influences therefore do not imply that outcomes are fixed. Education and targeted support can improve children’s skills.
Multiple factors contribute to difficulties
Across the disciplines reviewed, the evidence points to multiple contributing factors rather than a single underlying deficit. Neuroscience research implicates both brain systems involved specifically in language and reading and systems supporting learning more generally. Cognitive research examines how children acquire and use new skills, while intervention studies help establish which approaches support learning and why.
Implications for research and practice
The authors emphasise the importance of longitudinal studies for understanding how difficulties emerge, persist or change throughout development. They also call for larger and more diverse study populations, shared measures and closer collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Evaluating interventions can establish what helps children while also testing theories about how language and reading develop.
Figures for teaching and research
The review includes explanatory figures covering topics such as continuous variation in skills, genetic scores, brain systems and developmental study designs. The complete collection is freely available on Figshare for reuse in teaching, presentations and grant applications, with citation of the paper.
The review was written by Elsje van Bergen, Nicola Dawson, Emma James and Saloni Krishnan as part of a special issue celebrating the work of developmental neuropsychologist Dorothy Bishop.
Read the open-access publication
View the figures on Figshare