In preparation for DLD Awareness Day on 18th October, Speech & Language Link ran a survey to find out just how DLD-aware you are. Thank you to those who completed it—we had over 100 responses from both primary and secondary school staff!
So, what is DLD? 34% of those surveyed knew that it stood for Developmental Language Disorder; a life-long condition which affects more children than autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“The total prevalence of children with DLD or a Language Disorder is nearly 10% – almost 1 in every 10 children.” (Government data, 2023)
A further 41% correctly explained that DLD can affect both expressive and receptive language. Not only can it make it significantly difficult for a person to express both oral and written language, but it can severely reduce their ability to understand language.
From the little training received on speech, language & communication needs (SLCN) —only 2% of responses indicated more than just a token amount—it was not surprising that 59% were unsure as to what a diagnosis of DLD means for a child.
They are not alone. In fact, the charity RADLD (Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder) started their DLD campaign back in 2017 to raise awareness about this “common but hidden” condition. Not only is it hard to identify, but it is also little recognised and understood, despite being hugely impactful. DLD can have a wide-reaching impact on all aspects of a person’s life, from everyday communication to friendships and academic achievement.
The term ‘Developmental’ can also be misleading. A third of participants suggested that DLD could be eradicated via ‘development’ but unfortunately, although difficulties can improve, DLD does not go away. Instead, Developmental is used to explain that language difficulties began in early development.
The survey also highlighted the common confusion between speech and expressive language. These terms are easily confused, but making a clear distinction between them is important, and it can tell you a lot about a child’s profile.
Those with DLD often have difficulty using language to express themselves clearly (their sentences may have errors in grammar, word endings or word order), however, unless they also have a speech sound disorder, the way they physically produce the sounds in words will not be impacted and their speech will be intelligible.
Another unsurprising mix-up in the acronym-heavy world of SLCN is between DLD (which used to be called SLI: Specific Language Disorder) with DVD (Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, which now goes by CAS: Childhood Apraxia of Speech). DVD/CAS affects the production of speech sounds, rather than language, resulting in difficulties with intelligibility and is a separate condition entirely.
It is hugely important that children with DLD are identified as early as possible and support put in place to enable them to access learning and develop their language skills. Research has found that with the right support and strategies, children with DLD can make good progress.
So, how can you ensure that you are giving a child with DLD the very best chance of success?
- Firstly, teaching staff need to be given high quality training on how to recognise the signs of DLD. Identifying DLD is not easy, which is why DLD often gets missed or misdiagnosed. It can also be misinterpreted, sometimes as challenging behaviour, which ironically is often the result of not having their underlying needs recognised and the frustration of not understanding or being understood.
- Secondly, if you suspect a child has language difficulties, you need to speak to your SENCo and the child’s parents and suggest discussions with a Speech and Language Therapist for a possible diagnostic assessment.
- Thirdly, universal screening in Year R, using i.e. Infant Language Link, should be put in place at school to help determine any language difficulties which may indicate a language disorder and ensure early intervention.
- Lastly, while the child awaits assessment, there are a number of strategies you can use to support them in the classroom. In fact, many general strategies for supporting children with SLCN will be suitable for pupils with DLD.
A large proportion of respondents, 66%, shared an impressive array of strong, appropriate strategies including: using visuals, gestures and signs, regularly checking understanding, repetition and rephrasing, creating communication friendly classrooms, pre-teaching vocabulary, and simplifying and chunking instructions.
Finally, here are a number of key difficulties often present with DLD and some tips on how to support them:
- Difficulty understanding and learning new words, and limited vocabulary can significantly impact a person’s understanding of spoken information, participation in discussion or activities and their ability to follow instructions.
TIP: Pre- and post-teaching topic vocabulary and concepts can increase access to learning—include both easier topic words and high frequency cross-subject words, such as explain and describe.
- Difficulties with phonology (distinguishing between different sounds) is likely to impact on the development of literacy skills.
TIP: When teaching new words, focus on the sound structure (e.g. syllables, first and last sounds, and rhyming words), as well as the meaning.
- Difficulty using and understanding grammar (how we combine words in sentences and add parts to words e.g. the -ed ending for past tense) can result in a person producing short, simple, unclear sentences or jumbled word order and an inability to understand complex sentences.
TIP: Use structured visual support to identify types of words (e.g. noun/verb), and explicitly teach the word order that’s needed to create accurate spoken and written sentences. Sentence planners and Colourful Semantics are useful for this.
- Word finding difficulties make it difficult for people with DLD to express their thoughts and ideas.
TIP: Encourage pupils to talk around the word they can’t remember e.g. ask them to describe it—what’s it’s category, function and location? Word describing games are helpful here.
- Problems with pragmatics (the use of social language) can make it difficult to explain a story or event, or to recount narratives in a logical order. They can also result in difficulty understanding non-literal language and making inferences.
TIP: Don’t avoid non-literal language (e.g. idioms), instead explain phrases explicitly using context and visuals for additional clues.
- Weaker verbal memory makes it difficult for those with DLD to recall, understand and process spoken information so that it’s challenging to follow instructions, learn new words and problem solve.
TIP: Support verbal information with visuals, e.g. pictures, gestures and text, and allow time for processing before prompting a response—remember the 10 second rule!
Following a diagnosis of DLD, a combination of SaLT support and the use of high-quality classroom strategies can help develop a child’s language abilities to their full potential and minimise the impact of DLD at school and throughout their lives.
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What is your school doing for DLD Awareness Day? Visit RADLD for ideas and resources.
Infant Language Link is an innovative, award-winning online assessment and intervention package used by schools to identify and support pupils, aged 4-8 years, with language and communication needs. It is also suitable for learners new to English. For more information on the product, and to book a FREE 4 week trial, please visit speechandlanguage.link!
On our website, you can also find more information and tips on how to support DLD, as well as our SLCN training courses for primary staff.