Neurodevelopmental difficulties as a comprehensive construct of learning disabilities in children with developmental delay: a systematic review

A considerable number of students have learning difficulties and low academic performance, yet their evaluation does not always lead to a concrete diagnosis. They are categorized as immature, but neither the nature nor the characteristics of their difficulties are determined. The aim of this study was to identify the developmental domains which are affected in children with developmental delay (DD) and assess the concept of neurodevelopmental difficulties as a comprehensive construct of generalized learning difficulties. To this end, a systematic review was carried out on the electronic databases Medline, PsycINFO, WOS, Eric, Dialnet and CSIC and, after applying the inclusion criteria, 18 articles were selected. The results confirm that DD is used as a diagnostic label to characterize children with significant delays in one or more developmental domains, but there is no definition of consensus nor specific criteria for its diagnosis, and it is only to young children. The affected domains coincide with neurodevelopmental functions, and biological and environmental risk factors stand out in their aetiology. The association between a persistence of neurodevelopmental difficulties in childhood and generalized learning difficulties is verified, suggesting that the former are an explicative construct of the second.