ABSTRACT
This study aimed at formulating a hypothesis about the etiology of specific developmental language impairment [SDLI] in children and identifying their associated factors. The study was conducted on 402 children with delayed language development [DLD] who attended the Unit of Phoniatrics in Alexandria Main University Hospital during a period of six months. Findings in 117 children with SDLI were compared to those of 285 children whose DLD was accounted for by recognizable etiological factors There is not only a variety of possible causes, but also it seems likely that more than one factor operates in the individual child with such a disorder. Etiological factors may interact in the causation of developmental language disorders, so that the effect of several factors is greater than the sum of individual effects