Does Intelligence Predict Language Development?

Aims: a) To investigate the relationship between language and different intelligence parameters, b) To evaluate if different intelligence parameters can predict language in children. Background: Knowledge of language has been considered as the principle basis of intelligence. Assessment of the relation between different parameters of intelligence and language was not previously studied.
Material and Methods: A cross sectional study of 47 children with delayed language development (DLD) aged 2 to 6 years was recruited from the phoniatric unit. All children had undergone Intelligence Quotient (I.Q) assessment using Stanford Binet (IV edition) and Arabic language test (ALT).
Results: No correlation was found between receptive language age and different intelligence parameters. Expressive language age showed moderate correlation with total I.Q (r= 0.5), short term memory (r=0.4) and strong correlation with verbal reasoning (r=0.6)
Conclusion: There is no parameter in the intelligence test that can predict later language progress. Knowing that there is some intelligence parameters that are correlated with language may help us provide programs to strengthen the stronger area, and at the same time provide opportunities to enhance the learning process in the less strong areas in children with delayed language development.