ABSTRACT
Developmental language disorder (DLD) was discussed for the first time in Poland in 1875 by the prominent Polish linguist Jan Baudouin de Courtenay, who published language data from a language-impaired boy with ‘mental disability’. Free therapies for children with language impairments are provided by clinicians working for the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health. The diagnosis of DLD is usually made by a team of specialists comprising a medical doctor, a psychologist, an educator and a speech therapist. An important problem facing the parents of children with language disorders in Poland is the significantly limited access they have to integration centres that would implement policies addressing DLD in children and provide appropriate therapeutic facilities. No comprehensive screening is carried out among children in Poland for early diagnosis of DLD. In Poland, linguistic development assessments are mainly carried out by speech therapists.
