Do you want to help your child with DLD thrive?
Discover our effective strategies and tips that can help you foster effective language development for your child.
Language development issues are more common than you might think. They can affect children of all ages and backgrounds. It’s important for parents, teachers, and healthcare workers to understand these challenges and help children reach their full potential.
Good language skills are essential for a child’s overall growth. At school, they help children follow instructions, take part in lessons, and share their ideas clearly. This is key to doing well in their studies.
When it comes to socialising, being able to talk and understand others allows children to make friends, work in groups, and pick up on social cues. These skills help build teamwork and empathy.
Emotionally, language helps children express their feelings and needs. This cuts down on frustration and supports their mental health.
By improving children’s language skills, we give them the tools they need to do well in school, make strong connections with others, and live happy, successful lives.
Receptive language is the ability to understand spoken and written words. It means making sense of what we hear or read so we can respond in the right way. These skills are important for everyday life because they help us follow conversations, understand instructions, and interact with others.
Receptive language is especially important at school. It helps children follow directions, understand lessons, and read texts used for learning. For example, a child who understands instructions like “put your books away and line up” is using strong receptive language skills. Developing these abilities is key for clear communication and being involved in both learning and social activities.
Expressive language is how we share our thoughts, needs, and ideas using words, gestures, or other ways of communicating. It lets us talk about our feelings, share experiences, and connect with others in meaningful ways. Think of it as storytelling, where you can use your imagination and creativity to share ideas.
It also helps us organise what we’re thinking into clear sentences and ask questions when we need information or help. Getting good at expressive language is important for sharing ideas and plays a big part in learning and growing.
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) affects about 7.6% of primary school children in the UK. This means around two children in every classroom of 30 could struggle with language. These numbers come from the Surrey Communication and Language in Education Study (SCALES) and show that language difficulties are common, even in children who don’t have other conditions like autism or learning disabilities. Overall, it’s estimated that 20% of UK pupils (about 1.9 million children) now face challenges with talking or understanding words. This is the highest number recorded so far.
The COVID-19 lockdowns made existing problems worse, causing a 10% rise in the number of five- and six-year-olds in England needing help with speech and language. In 2021/22, 42,341 Year 1 children needed support, compared to 38,560 the year before. At Northwood Community Primary School in Merseyside, 16% of the 500 pupils now need extra help. This sudden increase is linked to fewer social interactions during key stages of their development.
About half (46.2%) of children with language disorders in the UK have trouble both understanding and expressing language. Around a third (33.7%) only find it difficult to express themselves, while 20.2% struggle mainly with understanding what others say. These challenges often make it hard for children in the classroom, as they might have trouble following instructions or explaining their ideas.
Only 53% of teachers in the UK feel they have the right training to help with speech and language problems in their classrooms. This is a big issue, especially since 74% of teachers say the government doesn’t give these problems enough attention. It’s also hard to spot these challenges early. Nearly half of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are not identified during primary school because the symptoms can look like behaviour or reading difficulties.
While programmes like the Nuffield Early Language Intervention have helped 90,000 young children in reception, big differences in language skills still remain. Data from SCALES shows that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) continue to face language challenges up to Year 6, highlighting the need for ongoing help as they grow up.
The UK government’s £180 million investment in early years development is an important step forward. However, experts recommend three key actions to make the most of this funding:
Children in the UK often face language difficulties that don’t occur on their own. These challenges are usually linked with other issues, which makes it important to look at the bigger picture. Recent UK studies show that 40-66% of young people who are sent to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have language difficulties that haven’t been identified. This can make it harder to diagnose and treat them properly. Even though 7.5% of UK children meet the criteria for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), many of these children still go unnoticed. Children with DLD are twice as likely to develop mental health problems as they grow older compared to children without DLD.
Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) often face other challenges too. A study in the UK called the SCALES project found that 58% of children with DLD also showed symptoms of ADHD, and 32% met the full criteria for attention disorders. These children are 3.2 times more likely to show behaviours like aggression and breaking rules compared to children without language difficulties. Their school performance is also heavily affected, with 72% of children with both DLD and ADHD falling behind in literacy, compared to 41% of children with only DLD.
Dyslexia often appears alongside DLD in about 38-45% of cases, which makes learning to read and write even harder for these children. They also tend to be about 9 months behind other students in skills like recognising and working with sounds, which is crucial for reading. These difficulties have a big impact on their performance in Key Stage 2 exams.
Finally, motor coordination issues affect 29% of children with DLD, and 41% have problems with visuospatial skills, like understanding space and movement, which can add to their challenges.
Long-term studies in the UK show worrying patterns in mental health for young people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD):
Additionally, over half (57%) of young offenders in UK Young Offender Institutions have language skills below the 10th percentile, showing how undiagnosed language and mental health issues can connect to problems with the law.
Language challenges can make it hard for children to do well in school, make friends, and feel confident. For example, if a child finds it hard to understand what their teacher is saying, they might not finish assignments or struggle to keep up with classmates. This can be really frustrating and might make learning tougher for them.
When it comes to making friends, language difficulties can stop children from sharing their thoughts or joining in conversations. This can lead to mix-ups and make it harder to build close friendships. They might also find it tricky to take part in group activities or stay connected with their peers, sometimes feeling left out.
Over time, these struggles can hurt their self-esteem, making them feel different or not as capable as others. But the good news is that with the right help and therapy, these issues can be solved. This can give children the chance to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.
Auditory processing is how we understand and make sense of the sounds around us. It helps us tell different speech sounds apart, notice patterns, and make sense of spoken words. Improving this skill can make it easier for children to read and understand what words mean.
Paying attention is important when learning a language, whether you’re having a chat or following directions. By focusing, children can understand words better, which helps them pick up new vocabulary and communicate more clearly.
Working memory helps children learn language. It lets them link words to their meanings, remember how sentences are put together, and follow tricky instructions. All of these things are important for building good language skills.
Social skills are about noticing social clues, taking turns in conversations, and responding to people in the right way. These skills matter because they make it easier to have good conversations and practise communicating in a natural, fun way. Strong social skills are important for talking to others and building relationships.
Using gestures and visual clues can make it easier for children to learn language. For example, if you point to a toy while saying its name, it helps children link the word to the object. You can also show pictures or symbols alongside spoken words to make it simpler for them to understand and remember what you’re saying.
To give instructions that children can follow easily, try breaking them into simple steps. For example, instead of saying “Get ready for bed,” you could say, “Put on your pyjamas,” “Brush your teeth,” and “Pick a bedtime story.” Smaller steps like these make it clearer and easier for children to understand what to do.
Reading books together is a fun way to learn new words. When you share stories, you come across new vocabulary and see how words are used in different situations, which can lead to interesting conversations. Another easy way to help is by talking about what you’re doing during everyday activities. For instance, while cooking, you can name the ingredients or explain each step, or during a walk, point out and name things you see. These simple habits help children naturally learn new words in their daily lives.
An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is a key tool for helping children with language difficulties. It can offer a structured, personalised approach to meet each child’s learning needs, focusing on their strengths and addressing their challenges. By setting clear, achievable goals and outlining specific strategies, an ILP paves the way for steady progress. It helps build a child’s confidence, develop their skills, and ensure their needs are effectively met.
Speech therapy is an important way to help children with language challenges. A trained speech therapist can identify what a child needs and create exercises to improve their communication. These exercises might focus on pronouncing words, building vocabulary, or understanding language better. Speech therapy not only helps children communicate, but it also improves their schoolwork and social skills, supporting them to do well in both class and everyday life.
Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) help children who have trouble communicating. They start by getting to know the child’s needs. This means watching how the child talks, using special tests, and asking parents or teachers for their input. This helps the therapist understand what the child does well and what needs improving.
Afterwards, the therapist makes a custom plan to help the child in the areas they need most. The therapy sessions are fun and engaging. For instance, books are used to teach new words and improve understanding, games help with taking turns and speaking clearly, and role-playing helps the child practise real-life conversations. These activities make learning fun and help the child feel good about improving their skills.
This classic game helps children improve their listening skills and understanding. Players need to listen carefully to follow the leader’s commands, especially when they begin with “Simon says.” The game can also include multi-step instructions to make it even better for practising listening and comprehension.
Telling stories is a fun way to learn new words and improve language skills. Children can make up their own stories using prompts or pictures to help them. You can also read a story together and pause to ask questions or talk about unfamiliar words. This makes it easier for them to follow the story and inspires them to be creative.
Use a bag filled with toys or household items to help a child explore their sense of touch. Without looking, they can feel an object and talk about its texture, shape, or material. This activity is a fun way to grow their vocabulary and make it easier for them to describe ideas.
If your child is experiencing language difficulties or Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), feel free to get in touch with Bright Heart for support.
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