More support needed for two children in every class with hidden language disorder

University of Bath Press release

2021-03-31

(Press-News.org) Children with a common but regularly undiagnosed disorder affecting their language and communication are likely to be finding the transition back to school post-lockdown harder than most, according to a team of psychologists.

Two children in every class of 30 are estimated to have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) (around 8%), yet public awareness, diagnosis and referral to speech and language therapists all remain low in the UK.

DLD is a condition where children have problems acquiring their own language for no obvious reasons. Unlike temporary language delay (which reflects the natural variation of age at which children learn to speak and communicate), DLD is a lifelong condition with significant impacts for individuals in childhood and in later life, in particular their mental health.

Common challenges for children include difficulty understanding what others say and struggling to articulate their ideas through speech. This can result in problems interacting and learning to play with peers, which researchers believe exacerbates mental health concerns and was the focus of a new study from the psychologists at the University of Bath.

Published today [Wednesday 31 March 2021], the END

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