ABSTRACT
The approach has been adapted from the assessment of cognition or intelligence, where it is an alternative to IQ testing. The dynamic assessment (DA) of language works really well, because the process of learning language is readily differentiated from the language that has been learnt. DA can be used on a wide range of typical and clinical populations. It may be used with adults with a range of cognitive and linguistic difficulties. Many of the prompts and questions will require the children to have a certain level of language. Children with language difficulties present in many different ways. No single explanation for the difficulties has yet been found that accounts for all the different presentations of language difficulties. One possible label for the language difficulties encountered by children is ‘language learning impairment’. The preferred label is ‘developmental language disorder’.
