Language difficulties can last a lifetime

31 Oct 2013 People who suffer from language difficulties as children may continue to suffer from various emotional and behavioural problems as adults, according to new research by The University of Manchester. Childhood language impairment used to be seen as an early years difficulty, with children catching up gradually as they got older. However, new research shows that is not always the case and that many people experience communication difficulties into adulthood. The research, led by Professor Gina Conti-Ramsden, from The University of Manchester, will be presented at an event as part of the annual Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Festival of Social Science. Professor Gina Conti-Ramsden, Professor of Child Language and Learning at The University of Manchester, said: "Young people who suffer from language impairments are not easy to notice. "They look like normal, typical people, and in fact they are. They have many skills and are in fact bright, it's just that the one thing they are not good at is language.