Neurodevelopmental disorder: creating a network between school, home, and family is essential

Let’s imagine having to carry out a simple activity such as grocery shopping. First of all, we need to understand what to buy, make a small list so as not to forget anything (either mentally or on paper), choose the best product according to value for money, and finally check that we are given the correct change. Apparently, this might seem like an easy task, but for a person with a neurodevelopmental disorder this is often not the case.

Neurodevelopmental disorders appear during childhood and are characterized by deficits that impair personal and social development: these include intellectual disabilities, communication disorders, autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and specific learning disorders,” explained Eleonora Pantani, a developmental speech and language therapist (ages 0–18). “These disorders affect the social life of today’s children, but also of tomorrow’s adults, because the difficulties, although compensated for through rehabilitative treatment, may persist into adulthood.”

In particular, speech and language therapists are responsible for the assessment and treatment of communication-language skills and school learning abilities, rehabilitating oral and/or written language functions. “Language is an essential component for human beings because it regulates all interpersonal relationships. When the linguistic component is altered, social interaction may also be compromised.” It is estimated that around 7% of the population in Italy has a developmental language disorder. (DLD).¹

How do neurodevelopmental disorders affect the lives of children and teenagers?
Neurodevelopmental disorders affect everyday social life: for this reason, it is essential that the therapeutic pathway begins from early childhood; however, inclusion by other people also plays a fundamental role. A preschool child with language difficulties may not be fully understood by peers and teachers, which can lead to isolation or, conversely, to emotional and behavioral instability with difficulties in socializing. In addition, a language disorder can evolve into a learning disorder and therefore generate difficulties in concentrating, reading, writing, and doing arithmetic.

What changes when people become adults?
In reality, what changes are the situations. As one grows up, daily life and tasks become increasingly complex. For example, at university one is required to use a more articulate vocabulary, while at work one must deliver oral presentations on specialized topics. In general, people with language or learning disorders show difficulties in executive functions, meaning all those cognitive processes that allow a person to stay focused, plan, carry out two tasks simultaneously, and solve problems: all essential skills in daily life. Then there is also the social aspect: adulthood implies that interpersonal relationships become more complex. For this reason, we speak of illusory recovery: the disorder does not disappear when one grows up, but the situations change.

What can we do, as non-professionals, to help?
Inclusion is the key. It is essential that children and teenagers feel comfortable and included in safe environments. I often encounter patients with specific learning disorders (SLD) who in the classroom refuse compensatory tools (for example, mind maps or calculators) because they feel ashamed and different. All this also generates emotional consequences that, in my opinion, are not discussed enough. It is enough to consider that around 30% of children and teenagers with SLD present emotional and/or behavioral difficulties, including low self-esteem, a higher likelihood of developing anxiety, depression, or being victims of bullying.² Acceptance of the disorder by children and their families becomes fundamental: it is necessary to make them understand that they too can reach the same goals as their peers, only with different times, tools, and methods. And here we adults also come into play (not necessarily professionals): we must reassure them that they are not to blame when they are unable to succeed in something, but that, simply, their way of learning and communicating is different, not therefore wrong. Creating a school-home-family network is essential in order to offer better opportunities and tools, so that today’s children can be happy and tomorrow’s adults can be confident.

1. Anna Giulia De Cagno, Un recupero illusorio. La persistenza del disturbo del linguaggio, 2025. ↩︎
2. Paola Cristofani, Maria Chiara Di Lieto, Claudia Casalini, Chiara Pecini, Matteo Baroncini, Ottavia Pessina, Filippo Gasperini, Maria Bianca Dasso Lang, Mariaelisa Bartoli, Anna Maria Chilosi and Annarita Milone, Specific Learning Disabilities and Emotional-Behavioral Difficulties: Phenotypes and Role of the Cognitive Profile, 2023. ↩︎