Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a greatly under recognised neurodevelopmental condition. The National Institute of Health defines DLD as “a communication disorder that interferes with learning, understanding, and using language”. In children, DLD may lead to delayed ability to speak in sentences, struggling to learn new words, and difficulty following instructions. These impacts can be seen in adulthood, through individuals avoiding speaking in complicated ways later in life.
As DLD leads to a struggle with speaking with and listening to others, the effects of this condition can be misinterpreted as simple behavioural issues. If a child with DLD is told a complicated set of instructions by their teacher but doesn’t quite get what to do, the teacher may think that they are being ‘naughty’ or ‘difficult’. However, there is often an underlying reason to explain this lack of compliance. In the case of approximately 7.6% of children, as found by Norbury et al (2016), these actions may be due to an inability to understand the instructions presented to them, which could look like the child not being interested in the activity.
As speech is instrumental in our daily lives, individuals with DLD are more likely to become isolated or avoid social interaction. Think about the number of conversations you have in just one day and how much we value the ability to speak our minds. Unfortunately, the reality for many individuals with DLD is a lack of resources, as it is a particularly under-resourced and under-researched condition. This is in spite of it being almost 7x more common than autism spectrum disorder, which is more widely recognised.
Jodi Oliver, a parent of a young adult with DLD, shares some of the ways in which this condition can present and the challenges it can cause, both for the child and the parent. The limited language comprehension which her daughter encountered made it difficult for her to keep up with “multistep directions” from teachers and fast-paced conversations with peers. The lack of accommodation offered for this condition places additional constraints on parents, with Oliver finding extra help as she found that she “couldn’t do it all”. This is why it’s so important for education systems to recognise DLD and its impacts, so that accommodations such as extra time on assignments or accessibly worded instructions can be offered to those who need them.
In order for this to happen, general education about this condition should be improved. Karla McGregor, who worked with Oliver, noted prevalent reasons as to why children with DLD are so underserved by the wider professional community, and related solutions:
- DLD is an unknown disorder
There are many different ways of describing DLD, which can make finding the right label for you or your child difficult. As there are many ways of describing the same set of symptoms seen with DLD, parents and individuals themselves can be confused about which category they fall into.
Solution: Naming the disorder DLD has two main benefits. Firstly, allowing it to become more widely known through limiting uncertainty regarding which disorder is being referenced. Secondly, the name DLD can make it clear that it is a language issue which denotes what a parent should be looking out for as potential warning signs.
- DLD is a hidden impairment
Despite language issues being a stronger predictor of future challenges with reading comprehension and general sociality than speed problems, those with a speech sound disorder are 2.4x more likely to be diagnosed and treated than those with DLD. Through the impacts of speech disorders being more recognisable and clear, teachers and parents are more equipped to notice these symptoms than the challenges associated with language disorders. Teachers themselves note that they are underprepared to be faced with the recognition of disorders like DLD.
Solution: By teaching our educators how to spot signs of language disorders, for example with a required training course, the individuals who spend time viewing the development of children will be better equipped to spot early signs of DLD. This can be aided by including language screenings for school-aged children, which can reveal inconsistencies in linguistic development.
- Access to services
Policies within many health systems deny adequate treatment of DLD. This is based on the belief that DLD will be grown out of, or that schools are sufficiently dealing with the difficulties faced by these individuals. Both of these reasons can be discredited, as teachers feel underprepared, as seen in reason 2, and through DLD presenting within adulthood as well as childhood.
Solution: To improve proficiency within the healthcare system, more research has to be done regarding DLD. At an individual level, by becoming aware of the existence of this condition, we are helping to increase the discourse surrounding this topic.
Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day allows us to improve our knowledge base on this underrepresented condition, and can help to spot any signs we may not have previously noticed in children or adults around us. Getting support and help can really help to improve the daily lives of those with DLD.
To meet with a professional psychologist or counsellor, call The Other Clinic at 8809 0659 or email us hello@theotherclinic.sg.
References:
Karla McGregor, Ph. D. (2023, January 20). DLD – a parent’s perspective. DLD and Me. https://dldandme.org/dld-a-parents-perspective/
McGregor, K. K. (2020). How we fail children with developmental language disorder. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(4), 981–992. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00003
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2022). Developmental language disorder – NIDCD. Developmental Language Disorder. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/order/developmental-language-disorder.pdf
Norbury, C. F., Gooch, D., Wray, C., Baird, G., Charman, T., Simonoff, E., Vamvakas, G., & Pickles, A. (2016). The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder: Evidence from a population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(11), 1247–1257. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12573