Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a neurodevelopmental difference that makes talking and understanding language difficult. DLD is lifelong, but most adults won't have received a diagnosis. It affects about 7% of children- which is equivalent to 2 students in every classroom of 30. Having DLD can affect school work, employment, relationships and mental health.
What might people with DLD struggle with?
DLD can affect different areas of language. Some people might find grammar and syntax (how words are organised in a sentence) really tricky; others might struggle to learn and remember vocabulary, and others might find more complex language tasks difficult, like telling a story or explaining how to complete a task. DLD can make reading difficult, and some people might also struggle with forming sounds in words, though this isn't essential for a diagnosis of DLD. This image from the Raising Awareness of DLD campaign shows the different parts of language that might be affected:
How does DLD relate to other speech, language and communication needs?
DLD is not a problem with learning English as an additional language. Being able to speak more than one language is always a great skill to have! It is not the same as having a stammer, a voice disorder or a speech sound disorder, though you can have all these things as well as having DLD.
Some people will have language difficulties that are thought to be associated with another condition, like autism or Down's Syndrome. In these cases, speech and language therapists/pathologists use the term 'language disorder associated with [the condition].' The someone has DLD, there is no known other condition that might cause language difficulties.
This image, reproduced from Bishop et al.'s 2017 paper, shows how DLD fits within the broader category of speech, language and communication needs.
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So why haven't I heard of DLD before?
There are a few reasons! Here are two of the main ones:
1. For a long time, speech and language therapists/pathologists and researchers used lots of different terms when describing language difficulties. These included terms like specific language impairment, developmental dysphasia...in fact, one study (Leonard, 2020) found 36 different clinical terms used in the research literature! Then, in 2017, an international group of researchers, clinicians, teachers and charity representatives published the results of a study to agree on terminology and criteria for language difficulties without a clear origin. DLD was the result, and since then there has been a huge growth in awareness about this common condition.
2. Language difficulties can often go unnoticed. Children and adults with DLD can get very good at masking their difficulties and may not themselves always realise that they are struggling with language. Sometimes, their difficulties are misunderstood and mislabelled as attention or behaviour problems.
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How is DLD diagnosed?
DLD is diagnosed by speech and language therapists/pathologists, sometimes in collaboration with other professionals like educational psychologists or paediatricians. They will assess a child's language and communication skills and find out whether language difficulties are having a functional impact on their life. How you access speech and language therapy/pathology depends on what country you are in; as part of this trip, I will be learning more about how the UK and Australian systems differ.
Where can I learn more about DLD?
For more information about DLD, I really recommend these sites:
DLD And Me.co.uk (for children and young people)
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​Thanks for reading this post to learn more about DLD. Please tell at least one other person something you have learned about DLD!
In the course of this project, I'll be speaking to people affected by or supporting those with DLD, so watch this space for more posts on what it is like to have DLD.
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