How are developmental language disorders and dysgraphia linked to missing small words in written work?
Executive summary
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) commonly show limited vocabulary and trouble retrieving specific words, and DLD affects speaking, listening, reading and writing [1] [2]. Dysgraphia—difficulty acquiring or producing written language—often co-occurs with other neurodevelopmental disorders (including dyslexia and DLD) and can affect the mechanical, orthographic and/or linguistic aspects of writing [3] [4] [5].
1. DLD’s core symptoms put small words at risk
Developmental language disorder is characterised by deficits in vocabulary and word retrieval: children often use a small set of general words because they cannot access more specific lexical items [2]. That cognitive profile makes short, functional words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) more likely to be omitted or replaced because the child cannot reliably retrieve or sequence the precise grammatical items needed in writing as well as in speech [2] [1].
2. Writing problems come from multiple routes—motor, orthography, language
Dysgraphia covers a range of writing difficulties: from fine‑motor and handwriting automation problems to spelling/orthographic and higher-level composition deficits [3] [5]. When the problem is orthographic or lexical (spelling and word retrieval), missing small words in written work can reflect language-level breakdowns overlapping with DLD; when the problem is primarily motor, omissions may reflect effortful handwriting that disrupts the writer’s ability to hold and output function words [3] [5].
3. High co‑occurrence blurs cause and effect
DLD, dyslexia and dysgraphia frequently co‑occur, which complicates simple cause–effect statements: children with DLD are more likely to have reading and writing disorders, and dysgraphia is commonly found with dyslexia and developmental coordination problems [6] [4]. Therefore, missing small words in writing may stem from pure language retrieval problems (DLD), from phonological/orthographic processing deficits (dyslexia), from motor/automaticity problems (dysgraphia), or from combinations of these [6] [4].
4. Cognitive mechanisms that explain omissions
Research links omissions to weaknesses in verbal working memory, phonological processing, and the development of orthographic representations—systems that underlie both spoken-word retrieval and accurate written production [6] [5]. If working memory or phonological processing is impaired, holding sentence structure while retrieving small grammatical words becomes fragile, producing omissions in written output [6].
5. Diagnostic nuance: not all missing words mean DLD or dysgraphia
Clinical guidelines and reviews emphasise careful differential assessment because language, motor, attention, and orthographic systems all affect writing [7] [3]. The same surface behaviour—omitting small words—can come from slow handwriting, inattention, limited vocabulary, phonological memory limits, or strategic simplification; clinical assessment must map omissions onto the underlying impaired process [3] [7].
6. Practical implications for assessment and intervention
Guidelines recommend targeted evaluation and interventions tailored to the impairment: language therapy for lexical/grammatical deficits, phonological interventions for reading‑related problems, and motor/handwriting approaches where fine‑motor automaticity is compromised [7] [3]. Because DLD responds to vocabulary and language‑focused therapy and dysgraphia benefits from educational and motor/orthographic support, determining whether missing small words are linguistic or mechanical guides treatment [7] [3].
7. Research gaps and contested boundaries
Scholars note heterogeneity across developmental written‑language disorders and call for frameworks that link normal writing development with specific deficits; consensus on definitions (especially for dysgraphia) is incomplete and prevalence estimates vary by definition and language system [5] [4]. Available sources do not mention precise prevalence of small‑word omissions specifically, nor do they offer a single tests-to-symptom mapping for that behaviour [4] [5].
8. What teachers and clinicians should watch for
Monitor patterns: are omissions consistent across spoken language and writing (suggesting DLD), tied to illegible or slow handwriting (suggesting motor dysgraphia), or occurring with phonological/spelling errors (suggesting dyslexia‑linked processes)? Comprehensive assessments—speech‑language pathology, educational, and occupational/neuromotor—are needed before attributing missing small words to one diagnosis [1] [3] [4].
Limitations: this synthesis uses current reviews and clinical guidance in the available sources and highlights co‑occurrence and overlapping mechanisms [6] [7]. For targeted advice about a specific child, clinical evaluation is required; available sources do not provide a single diagnostic checklist that maps missing small words directly to a single disorder [5] [4].