Page 33 - SEN106 SEN Magazine May-June 2020

Diagnosing DLD The overarching diagnostic criteria for DLD are that: • the language difficulties create obstacles to communication or learning in everyday life • the problems are unlikely to, or have not resolved by five years of age • the problems are not associated with a biomedical condition, for example, a genetic condition or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A speech and language therapist (SLT) can diagnose DLD and this can be done without the need for an assessment by an educational psychologist in relation to non verbal IQ. An important part of the diagnostic process is gathering information from professionals and/or parents and understanding how the child’s language profile is affecting their functioning in everyday life and learning. Why educators need to know about DLD • DLD is common and affects approximately 7.5 per cent of children, which equates to approximately two children in every classroom. • DLD may not be obvious and may be masked by other associated or secondary issues. • Language skills are absolutely key for learning across the curriculum, including understanding of concepts, acquiring knowledge and using reasoning skills. Language skills are predictive of academic success. • Difficulties are likely to be persistent across a child’s life, so it is essential that educators from early years to post- 16 have a good understanding of DLD. • Oral language and literacy are closely related and interdependent. Children with DLD often have problems understanding what they read and many children with DLD also meet criteria for dyslexia. • Children’s difficulties need to be identified and supported to improve a wide range of outcomes. Studies have shown that teenagers with language difficulties are 2.5 times more likely to report symptoms of depression, and at school entry, teachers reported that children had more symptoms of social, emotional and behaviour problems. Children with DLD are at higher risk of friendship issues and DLD is associated with higher rates of unemployment and lack of independence. As a speech and language therapist, I have seen direct evidence of how language and related literacy difficulties can affect a child’s emotional wellbeing and self image. Harry – a funny, bright and sociable young man – drew a picture of himself in a classroom. Harry drew a “bad work board” with his work posted across it, a house point chart with Harry’s name at the very bottom, and children in the class having fun with one boy in the corner, facing the wall, crying. The picture didn’t in any way reflect the physical reality of the classroom but gave us an insight into Harry’s view of himself and his feelings about school. DLD profiles Language development is complex and multi-dimensional. Each child with DLD will have a different profile of skills and difficulties. Each child with DLD will have a different profile of skills and difficulties About the author Becky Clark runs ClarkSLT, speech and language therapy services for schools in SE England and via teletherapy, and was co-founder and editor of the RADLD YouTube campaign (previously called RALLI), which created short films for professionals and parents on children’s language difficulties. clarkslt.co.uk @BeckyClark22 (search) RADLD Dimension Explanation Phonological processing Speech sound processing Semantic knowledge Meanings and relationships between words Syntax and morphology Word order in sentences and word parts signalling meaning – for example “-ing”, “-ed” Verbal learning/memory Holding words in memory and storing new word labels or word sequences Word finding Knowing a word but struggling to retrieve it Pragmatic language Understanding what is meant in context through inferencing, and using language appropriate to the context senmagazine.co.uk SEN 106 33 SLCN