Those with language delays as a child:

Prognosis for second language learning.

I am curious about this, How will, say, a child who was delayed in learning their native language (say they had difficulty understanding others for a while and were unable to speak well) do in learning a second language later in life? Will they have delays with this too? What considerations will they need in learning the new language? I think this is interesting, but I have searched Google using terms such as "language delay second language" and there seems a dearth of information.

What if, say, this child was hyperlexic in that for a long while they could not speak, write, or listen to the language, but could read it?

There are actually a couple different things that could be going on here.

One, the child could have difficulty processing language in general.

Two, the child could be processing just fine, but be unable to make the sounds required for the language, as in not being able to accurately coordinate the speech muscles, vocal cords, and so on.

As I see it, one has to do with the nature of language itself; the other is largely an issue of mechanics.

So which one do you mean?

JP,

I suppose in that case I am referring to those who have an issue with the nature of language itself. Those who, even as adults, sometimes cannot comprehend things spoken in their native language for example. Of course, it would be much dependent on the condition, which could be out of these:

hyperlexia- where the child can read from a very young age, but has difficulty with all other language functions.

learning delay- where they simply have delays in picking up the language in general.

Both of these of course will lead to social issues on the part of the child and delayed development in other areas, but later in life, for whatever reason, they are becoming exposed to a second language; would they have the same issues, or would their maturity provide assistance? What would be the best way to teach these people?

I'm not sure if my way of typing this is the most understandable. If it is still an issue, please let me know.

Is it only language where the child was retarded, or other spheres aslo?

Franco,

I am referring primarily to English. Some with language delays are actually brilliant in other fields.

Franco,

My apologies. I am referring to language being their primary disability.

I think hyperlexia is often comorbid with high-functioning autism (hfa) and Asperger's syndrome (where the affected often have social issues, intense interests, and slightly strange, though inventive use of language). The only difference between hfa and aspergers is that in hfa, the child had difficulty learning his first language with regards to output and listening. One feature of such individuals, however, is that they do not like to have themselves pinned down or easily identified, so if they have an interest in learning a language, they may do it very enthusastically and they would not really identify as their previous nationality.