# Children with developmental language disorder show selective impairments in low-frequency neural tracking of speech

Source: [PLOS Biology](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003782) · 2026-11-13 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/children-with-developmental-language-disorder-show-selective-impairments-in-low-69649a6a4cac05b5
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- A study in PLOS Biology compares neural tracking of speech in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) with that of typically developing children.
- The authors report selective impairments in low-frequency neural tracking of speech in children with DLD.
- The work tests Temporal Sampling (TS) theory, which holds that neural tracking of slow temporal modulations supports extraction of prosodic and syllabic structure needed for language acquisition.

## Why it matters

The findings point to a specific neural mechanism, tracking of slow speech rhythms, that may be altered in DLD, which can inform research on how language is acquired and on the underlying causes of the disorder.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-13: Study published in PLOS Biology

## Coverage

- [Children with developmental language disorder show selective impairments in low-frequency neural tracking of speech](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003782) — PLOS Biology, 2026-11-13

Tags: developmental language disorder, speech perception, neural tracking, temporal sampling, language acquisition, neuroscience

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science