What is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?

DLD is when a child has ongoing trouble with understanding and using language, which can affect life at home and at school.

• DLD is not caused by other conditions like autism, hearing loss, or genetic conditions such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy.
• Children with DLD can also have other challenges, like ADHD, coordination issues (dyspraxia), reading/writing difficulties, or speech problems.
• There is no known cause for DLD.
• It used to be called Specific Language Impairment (SLI).
• About two children in every classroom are affected by DLD.

Signs of DLD

Your child may:

• Struggle to find the right words when talking
• Have a small vocabulary and find it hard to learn new words
• Find it hard to understand what others are saying
• Speak in a way that sounds younger than their age (e.g. wrong tenses, mixed-up word order)
• Learn better with hands-on activities and pictures
• Have trouble answering questions like “who?”, “where?”, or “why?”

How you can help

If your child has trouble with spoken language, here are some tips:

• Give them extra time to think and speak
• Don’t interrupt or finish their sentences
• Use pictures, objects, or gestures to help them understand
• Say their name before talking to get their attention
• Use simple, clear language
• Repeat what they say using the correct grammar (e.g. if they say “catched ball,” you can say, “Yes, he caught the ball”)
• Be specific when giving instructions (e.g. say “Put your toys in the box” instead of “Put them in there”)
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Repeat things if needed

Speech and Language Support in Leeds

• We have a team of specialist Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) to help children with high-need DLD
• These children are referred by their regular SLT, who has already done some work with them
• The DLD team offers around six sessions to assess the child’s needs, provide therapy, and help parents and school staff support the child
• Some children may get more support from the DLD team or be referred back to the regular SLT team
• The team also gives training to parents and school staff
• Some children may be able to go to special primary and secondary Language Resource schools – the specialist SLT will talk to you about this if it’s a good fit

If you would like further information or to discuss your child’s Speech and Language needs further, please contact your SLT or the DLD team: Judith Lund via phone: 0113 843 2759 or email: judith.lund2@nhs.net

Where to find further information:

• ICAN – the children’s communication charity
• AFASIC – parent led organisation to help children and young people with speech, language and communication needs and their families
• Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder YouTube Channel