Relationship between physical activity and physical fitness in school-aged children with developmental language disorders.
Kids with DLD can move all day yet still lack strength, balance, and heart fitness—so target the components, not just the clock.
01Research in Context
What this study did
de Kuijper et al. (2014) compared fitness and activity levels in two groups of school-age kids. One group had developmental language disorder (DLD). The other group had typical development.
They used standard fitness tests. These measured strength, balance, flexibility, and heart fitness. They also tracked how much each child moved during the day.
What they found
Kids with DLD scored lower on four out of five fitness tests. The gaps were large enough to matter in daily life.
Surprise: both groups logged about the same amount of physical activity. Moving time was not the problem; fitness was.
How this fits with other research
Martínez-Castilla et al. (2023) saw a similar pattern in music skills. Kids with DLD scored far below peers on rhythm tasks. Together the studies show DLD is linked to broad motor-timing problems, not just language.
Arslan et al. (2020) looked at working memory in the same population. They found visuospatial memory catches up by adolescence. Fitness, however, stays behind. This tells us the fitness gap is not just a side-effect of slower overall development.
Johnson et al. (2014) showed we can trust assisted self-reports of activity in people with intellectual disabilities. G et al. used objective tests, but Marquell’s work supports adding simple interview questions when you need a quick screen.
Why it matters
Do not assume that “active enough” equals “fit enough.” Build short, targeted drills for strength, balance, and heart fitness right into your session. For example, add two-minute wall-push or single-leg-stand stations between language tasks. Track the fitness score, not step count, to see real change.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
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Join Free →Pick one fitness test (like a 30-second wall-sit) and run it at intake; use the score to set a concrete strength goal in the child’s plan.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) often experience difficulty in understanding and engaging in interactive behavior with other children, which may lead to reduced daily physical activity and fitness levels. The present study evaluated the physical activity and physical fitness levels of 8-11 year old children with DLD (n = 27) and compared this to typically developing (TD) age and gender matched controls (n = 27). In addition, it was investigated whether interrelationships existed between physical activity and physical fitness in children with DLD and in TD children. Physical activity was measured using accelerometers. Physical fitness was measured using five tests of the Eurofit test battery (standing broad jump (SBJ), sit-ups (SUP), handgrip (HG), 10 × 5 m shuttle run (10 × 5 m SR), and the 20 m shuttle run test (20 m SR)). Physical activity of children with DLD did not significantly differ from TD children. Physical fitness of children with DLD was significantly lower on the SBJ, SUP, HG and 10 × 5 m SR than TD controls, while no significant difference was found on the 20 m SR. Strong significant relationships were found between physical activity variables and sedentary behavior and some physical fitness measures (SBJ and SUP) in children with DLD, while in TD children a strong significant relationship was found between time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity and performance on the SBJ. This study reveals important differences in fitness between children with DLD and TD children, which should be taken into account when creating physical activity interventions. Special attention has to be paid to children with DLD who show low physical activity and low physical fitness performance.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.08.022