Communication outcomes of former late talkers (Mettler et al., 2026)

Purpose: In this follow-up study, we examined outcomes of children previously identified as late talkers in toddlerhood. Our goals included determining the prevalence of language/literacy disorders in our sample and describing children’s outcomes related to oral language, literacy, cognition, and speech.Method: We administered a battery of behavioral measures to 40 English-speaking children ages 3–10 years. We used psychometrically sound tests to identify language/literacy disorders and then compared children with a disorder to those without on our other measures.Results: Of the children we could test with confidence, 19 of 36 (52.8%) presented with a language/literacy disorder based on the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test–Preschool, Second Edition or the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills Identification Core Score. When we included children with substantially delayed or disordered speech, the total number of children with speech difficulties or a language/literacy impairment was 22 of 39 (56.4%). Bayesian independent-samples t tests showed compelling evidence that those without a language/literacy disorder outperformed those with a disorder on vocabulary, phonemic awareness, spelling, reading comprehension, reading fluency, articulation, and a working memory forward cognitive measure. There was no compelling evidence for group differences on listening comprehension, writing, nonverbal intelligence, and cognitive measures of attention and working memory backward.Conclusion: Using sound diagnostic tests, rates of language/literacy disorders in our sample of former late talkers were higher than past findings in the literature, highlighting the seriousness of late talking as a red flag for future difficulties in advanced oral language and literacy skills.Supplemental Material S1. Additional method details.Supplemental Material S2. Additional results.Mettler, H. M., Figueroa, C. R., Leon, K., & Alt, M. (2026). Beyond toddlerhood: Rates of impairment, strengths, and challenges in the communication outcomes of former late talkers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 69(2), 679–705. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00117