Developmental Language Disorder: Early Signs and Effective Interventions
A Common but Often Hidden Lifelong Disorder
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a condition that affects 1 in 14 people, yet it is often overlooked. Lisa Wright, a Speech and Language Therapist at Words First, is passionate about raising awareness of DLD.
Ask most people what comes under the term ‘neurodivergence’ and you’re likely to hear “autism”, “ADHD”, and maybe “dyslexia” or “dyspraxia”. Unless you’re a parent or professional working in this field, DLD might not come to mind. Even a quick Google search doesn’t give DLD much attention.
This condition has been known for hundreds of years and has been described in various ways, including ‘language delay’ and ‘specific language impairment’. Since 2017, however, Developmental Language Disorder has been the consensus term used in the English-speaking world.
Throughout her career as a Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT), Lisa Wright has developed a special interest in DLD and shares her enthusiasm for the topic with her Words First colleagues, partnered schools, and her students and their families. She continues to raise awareness of DLD whenever she can.
“DLD is a common childhood condition that can impact a person’s ability to make sense of the world around them, potentially affecting their academic progress and social connections. But it can really improve with the right support, especially when help is found early on. This is why raising the profile of DLD is so important, and one of the ways we can do this is to support #DLDday on 18th October 2024 – an awareness day organised by the charity RADLD,” says Lisa Wright.
What Might DLD Look Like?
“DLD is a hidden disorder, with challenges that may not be immediately obvious to a non-specialist,” Lisa explains. “It could be seen as more errors in a child’s speech, using simpler or shorter sentences, or having trouble organising a conversation.”
As with other types of neurodiversity, no two people with DLD will have the same abilities and challenges. Some may have speech or pronunciation difficulties as well as a delay in their language development, while others may experience different combinations of challenges.
Early Signs of DLD
- Starting to talk later than siblings or peers
- Difficulty learning new words
- Struggling to put words into sentences
- Difficulty finding the right words to share ideas
- Difficulty following instructions or answering questions
- Difficulty learning to read and write
- Difficulty remembering what has been said
- Difficulty paying attention
How Can We Help a Child with DLD?
Lisa has shared five simple ways to encourage parents, school staff, and others around the child to enhance language development:
Use Visual Information to Back Up Words
Show the object you’re talking about, like when giving choices or reading picture books, or point things out in the environment. For older children, written instructions in bullet points can support verbal ones.
Give Choices
Giving choices is a simple yet effective way to involve children and encourage a response. You’re also providing a clear model of the spoken word, with the aim that they’ll imitate one option to communicate their choice. If they point or take the object, repeat the choice so they hear the word again: “Banana, Amir wants the banana.”
Use Everyday Commentary to Name and Describe
Comment on what you see wherever you go: name things you see when out and about, pictures in books, or items on TV. Use short sentences and lots of repetition. Remember to include action and describing words as well: “Can you see the tall girl? The tall girl is jumping high. Jump, jump, jump!”
Comment Rather Than Correct or Question
If a child says a word incorrectly, respond positively rather than correcting them. Repeat the word correctly, and use it in a phrase: “Car, that’s right. Car. It’s a red car.”
Instead of asking too many questions like “What’s this?”, comment on what the child is doing and name it. Give them your full attention and allow time for them to respond in their own way. If they switch to something else, go with it and comment on that: “The red car is chasing the blue car.”
Sing Songs and Nursery Rhymes
It’s never too early or too late to sing with your child. Singing helps explore different words, sounds, and variations in pitch and tone. Rhymes help us play with words and tune our ears to the sounds that form them. Studies show that the more songs and rhymes a child knows, the better they can express themselves verbally, and they tend to be stronger readers and more confident.
Resources to Help
Lisa recommends the following resources to support a child or young person with DLD:
- The Word Aware series by Stephen Parsons and Anna Branagan: Includes helpful strategies for learning new words, exploring their sounds and meanings.
- Colourful Semantics by Alison Bryan: Uses colour, symbols, and signs to visually code words and sentences, helping to develop understanding.
- Shape Coding by Susan Ebbels: A visual coding system that shows how words fit together in sentences. This system helps structure sentences, particularly useful when children start school and begin learning to write.
We hope you’ve found this post helpful and now know a bit more about the signs of DLD and ways to support children with this disorder.
If you have any concerns about your child, speak to staff at their nursery or school, or contact your GP about a referral to a Speech and Language Therapist.
