Introduction: Language is increasingly recognized as a central cognitive mechanism supporting Executive Functions (EF), social cognition, and emotional understanding in children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). This theoretical synthesis integrates evidence from a Scoping Review (2008–2021), four empirical studies, and additional theoretical contributions to examine language as a cognitive resilience factor.

Methods: The Scoping Review provided the foundational framework, enriched by neuropsychological models of EF, socio cognitive theories of Theory of Mind (ToM), and linguistic and metacognitive contributions relevant to social cognition. This conceptual base was further integrated with empirical findings on EF–ToM mediation in children with ADHD, language mediated pathways between ToM and Emotional Understanding (EU) in preschoolers, vocabulary and morphological awareness as predictors of ToM in middle childhood, and comorbidity patterns linking speech/language disorders with spelling deficits in SLD.

Results: EF impairments—particularly in working memory, selective attention, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility—only partially predicted ToM performance, whereas language ability consistently mediated the relationship between EF and ToM and fully accounted for the association between ToM and EU. Additionally, speech and language disorders showed strong associations with spelling difficulties, identifying spelling as a critical interface between phonology, morphosyntax, and learning.

Conclusions: The integrated model conceptualizes language as a metacognitive device capable of compensating EF deficits, supporting mental state representation, enhancing emotional understanding, and stabilizing orthographic learning. Implications include the need for longitudinal research on EF–language–ToM–EU pathways and the development of language based interventions aimed at strengthening cognitive resilience in children and adolescents with SLD.

Jessica Rubaltelli is a clinical and social psychologist specializing in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, with a strong academic foundation and a master’s degree in school psychology. She is a member of the Italian Society of Psychosomatic Medicine.