DLD can make talking and listening difficult, leading to children struggling with formal education and exams at school while in adult life they can face difficulties obtaining employment, as well as social and emotional challenges.
It's a hidden disability with life-long impacts. And two young people from Northern Ireland living with Developmental Language Disorder will share their stories at a Stormont event on Friday.
Speech and language therapy can help by teaching strategies to children with DLD, and those around them, which aim to reduce the impact of their difficulties and develop their language abilities to their maximum potential. The key is in recognising, diagnosing and accessing specialist support as early as possible.
The theme for DLD Day 2024 is “Speak Up for DLD” and two young people with DLD are attending an event at Stormont to do just that: speaking up and showing how, with the right support, they are thriving in working life. Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of the event, Conall said: "Having that dedicated speech and language therapy at Thornfield House from an early age really helped set me up for life. I was born deaf and at the age of four I had surgery to correct my hearing. After that I attended a mainstream school but I struggled with my speech and was a bit behind everyone else.
Ruth Sedgewick, Head of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in Northern Ireland, said: “For many people with DLD, understanding and using language are significant barriers to learning and therefore it can negatively affect getting into the world of work. However, with the right support, many young people with DLD are successfully navigating the obstacles they face and are going on to find fulfilling jobs, achieve qualifications, and obtain university degrees.
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