What Does DLD Look Like?

Children with DLD often have lots of ideas and knowledge but have significant difficulties with some or all of the skills we need to understand and talk. For example:

• A child with understanding difficulties may struggle with understanding and remembering instructions such as ‘find a clean page in your blue book and put your name at the top’. They might only be able to understand and remember part of the instruction and rely on watching the other children to work out what to do. Your child may also find it difficult to understand questions such as ‘what did you get up to at the weekend?’ or ‘how did you get on at the dentist?’ They may answer these questions incorrectly or just look confused.
• A child with difficulties learning, using and remembering the right words might use the wrong word, might use a vague word like ‘thingy’ or may try to explain a word if they can’t remember it. For example your child might say ‘At the park I played on the … (pause)… that thingy… you go up and down’ (+ actions).
• A child with difficulties putting words together into sentences might miss out words or use the wrong word. For example they might say ‘her no shoes on’ instead of ‘she hasn’t got any shoes on’ or ‘what name him’ for ‘what is his name?
• A child with difficulties pronouncing words clearly might miss out or replace sounds in words. For example, they might say ‘ tan I ha a di pee’ for ‘can I have a drink please’.

The Impact of DLD

The impact will vary from child to child but they may struggle to:

• Be understood, which can be very frustrating for both your child and the listener. In turn this may affect their confidence especially talking to people they don’t know so well
• Make friends
• Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of what they have learnt
• Express their feelings
• Develop their reading and writing skills.

How Does DLD Get Diagnosed?

A DLD diagnosis should only be made by a Speech and Language Therapist. It is usually made over a period of time to assess:

• How your child develops
• Their response to therapy
• If speech and language is your child’s primary difficulty.

The diagnosis is usually only given to children once they are 5 years or older.

Supporting Children With DLD

Progress will vary but children do best where the parents and school have a good understanding of your child’s needs and are able to work together to support your child to become as confident a communicator as possible.

Some children with DLD may benefit from a short term placement at a specialist resource base (SRB), where they can access more intensive therapy and specialist teaching. There are currently five SRBs in Norfolk for children in key stage 1.

Some children whose speech and language difficulties are having a significant impact on their learning may require an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) to identify their needs and access extra help and support.

Children with DLD say it’s a bit like being in a foreign country when you can only understand and say a few basic sentences of the language. It is hard work concentrating on what is being said especially when most information at school is presented through the spoken word!

So it’s important to:

• Keep language simple by thinking about the words you use and talking in short sentences.
• Check your child’s understanding by asking them to repeat back what you have asked them to do (if they can).
• Give them time to respond to questions/instructions/information.
• Give your child extra visual clues to help them understand what you are talking about (as well as the written word) such as simple gestures/signs, objects/pictures, symbols.
• Acknowledge their difficulties but balance this with the other things they are good at. Give lots of encouragement for trying.

Do Children Grow Out of DLD?

DLD is not something that can be ‘cured’ by speech and language therapy (SLT). However SLT can advise parents and schools to use appropriate strategies to support your child’s learning. During secondary school children should start to develop an insight into their difficulties.

This will enable them to take more responsibility for their needs and discuss with educational staff the specific strategies that help them both in class and at home.