It has come around to that time of year again! It is DLD Day! This is the day where we raise awareness of Developmental Language Disorder.
Facts about DLD
The RADLD has worked incredibly hard to put together a range of facts to tell you all about DLD. Here are a few:
DLD is a significant difficulty affecting learning, understanding and using spoken language. It is a relatively new term which was introduced in 2017. Previously the condition has been known as expressive-receptive language disorder or specific-language impairment.
DLD is a hidden disability. People with DLD make more errors or use similar sentences or even have trouble organising a conversation. These problems are not always obvious to the non-specialist.
DLD emerges in early childhood but persists into adulthood.
DLD affects people around the world, no matter what language they speak.
DLD is common, on average 2 children in every classroom will have it.
It affects social and emotional wellbeing as well as success at school and work.
We have a lot more to learn about what causes DLD and the belief that DLD is caused by parents who don't talk or read enough to their children is not true.
DLD involves differences in brain development. These differences are subtle and are unlikely to show on routine brain scans. Some differences are in the grey or white matter of the brain affecting the cortical areas of the frontal and temporal lobes.
What can you do to help?
All over the world buildings will be lighting up in purple and yellow. You could go to those light ups and show your support. Click here for more information.
You can also print off posters and other information directly from the RADLD website to help you to make others aware.
What do I do if I think my child has DLD?
Firstly, please do not panic.
We will need to arrange a time to do an assessment of your child looking at all areas of their speech, language and communication. From this assessment we can ascertain where your child requires support and where their strengths lie, building on those strengths and supporting their needs. Once this has been established we are working on our way to determining if your child meets the criteria for DLD.
Observations of your child will then take place at school, and discussion with other professionals working with your child will also help with this diagnosis. Once all the information is gathered we can look at a more formal diagnosis and getting your child the support they need.
Next Steps
Please use the contacts page to discuss your child's needs with us and we can agree what might be the next best next steps.
You can also find further information in the blog at www.treetops-slt.co.uk and on www.radld.org.
