Understanding how language and reading problems develop: a population-based longitudinal study from infancy to age 7

早期的语言和阅读问题很常见，因此是严重的公共卫生问题。他们是残疾的，并对口头和书面沟通技能、社交和情感健康、认知、行为、学业成就和就业产生终生影响。这项研究将解决以下三个问题：1.到目前为止，还没有研究记录语言和阅读问题是如何从婴儿期(8个月)发展到学龄期(7岁)的。2.人们对在婴儿期和儿童期早期发现的风险因素知之甚少，这些因素可以可靠地预测儿童以后的语言和阅读问题。3.对语言困难和阅读问题之间的关系认识不足。因此，我们目前还没有令人满意的方法来可靠地检测哪些年龄更小的儿童以后有语言障碍或阅读问题的风险。没有这些信息，就不可能制定有效的预防和早期干预方案。如果我们要：a)防止语言和阅读问题的发生，从而减少问题的流行；b)在儿童早期进行干预，从而从长远来看减少与语言和阅读问题相关的负担和成本，这些计划是至关重要的。这项拟议的研究建立在NHMRC对维多利亚早期语言研究(ELV)的现有大量投资的基础上。它将在世界上首次描述从婴儿期到学龄期的语言困难和阅读问题在单个人群队列中的演变。

Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk factors, identified early in infancy and childhood, that can be reliably used to predict language and reading problems later in childhood. 3. The relationships between language difficulties and reading problems are poorly understood. Therefore, we currently have no satisfactory methods for reliably detecting which children at much younger ages are at risk of later language disorders or reading problems. Without this information it is impossible to develop effective prevention and early intervention programs. These programs are critical if we are to: a) Prevent language and reading problems from occurring, thereby reducing the prevalence of the problem b) Intervene early in childhood, thereby reducing in the longer term the burden and cost associated with language and reading problems. The proposed study builds on an existing substantial investment by the NHMRC in the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). It will provide a world-first description of the evolution of language difficulties and reading problems from infancy through to school age within a single population cohort.