What causes language disorders in children? There are really two answers to this question: “a lot of things” and “we don’t know.” Language and communication deficits are the most common sequelae of a variety of disorders that affect mental development. We might say that language is the “final common pathway” through which a broad range of disruptions of neurological development are expressed. So there are really as many causes of language disorders as there are conditions that language disorders are associated with, and there are lots of those. Hearing impairment, Down syndrome, and fetal alcohol syndrome are just a few examples. On the other hand, many children present with disorders of language learning for which no identifiable cause can be established. These children may have specific disorders of language acquisition, with few other obvious difficulties. Or they may have language disorders associated with another condition, such as autism or nonspecific mental retardation, for which the cause is unknown. So you can see why we might say that language disorders in children have multiple causes as well as unknown origins.