Supporting Children with Speech and Language Difficulties at Home and in the Classroom.
By Dr Susan Ebbels and Hilary Nicoll, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapists and researchers at Moor House Research and Training Institute
You may have heard from recent research that lockdowns and social isolation have caused an increase in the number of children experiencing delays in their language and social development. Parents or carers who took on the role of teacher during periods of home schooling may now have become more aware of their child’s difficulties with understanding or completing schoolwork. Catch-up programmes have been implemented by nurseries and schools to help these children close their language development and learning gaps. But what about children whose language difficulties are not caused by lack of experience and interactions?
A Hidden Disability
These children may have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a condition that affects one in 14 children – but no-one has ever heard of it! This is despite DLD being as common as dyslexia and seven times more common than autism. These children are not able to learn or catch up language skills in the same way as their peers and therefore may have fallen even further behind. Language difficulties can be hard to recognise, with other behaviours or learning difficulties that result from DLD (e.g., problems with literacy and numeracy skills, emotional well-being and/or friendships) being more obvious than the language difficulties themselves. If a child is struggling with any of the signs below, it is worth asking “Could it be language?”
10 Signs of DLD
- Understanding and remembering what to do, particularly non-routine instructions
- Learning and using new words including people’s names
- Following and joining in conversations, especially in a group
- Expressing their needs, ideas and feelings
- Talking about events in the past or future
- Putting words together in sentences
- Understanding and re-telling stories
- Concentration – particularly when lots of listening is required
- Maintaining friendships and joining in play
- Managing their emotions, anxiety or frustration around communication
The more of these signs a child shows, the more pressing it is that their difficulties are assessed and supported. Referrals to Speech and Language Therapy can be made directly, or via a health visitor, GP or school SENCO.
Click HERE for a useful downloadable checklist, or for more information about Speech & language Therapy visit the ASLTIP website HERE.
