Shocking double disadvantage: Two million UK children with speech and language challenges face mental health crisis

The report reveals that children struggling with talking and understanding words are not only more likely to develop mental health problems² – they’re also less likely to get the support they desperately need.

The report lays bare the stark link between speech and language challenges and mental health challenges:

• A record two million UK children now face significant struggles with talking and understanding words – more than ever before.¹
• A worryingly high 81% of children experiencing mental health problems also have significant, often undiagnosed, speech and language difficulties.³
• Almost half  – 45%  – of all young people referred to mental health services are grappling with serious language challenges.³

This is unfolding against a backdrop of rapidly rising mental health issues. In 2023, 1 in 5 children and young people (aged 8 to 25) experienced a mental health problem – a dramatic increase from 1 in 9 in 2017.⁶

The consequences ripple through every aspect of these children’s lives. For children who struggle with talking and understanding words, recognising and expressing emotions can be especially difficult. Language is the primary tool we use to make sense of our thoughts and feelings, and without it, emotions can feel overwhelming and unmanageable. Without the words to explain how they feel, their ability to process and manage these emotions is significantly impacted, and over time, can manifest in mental health problems like anxiety and depression.

These struggles inevitably spill over into their social worlds. Over half (56%) of affected children and young people have difficulties making and keeping friendships, while more than a third (35%) have faced bullying or exclusion. These experiences often lead to withdrawal, with 22% of young people turning down social invitations due to anxiety related to their speech and language challenges.⁷

Why is this happening?

Across the country, teachers, therapists and families are fighting every day to support these children – but they’re up against a system that’s failing the very children they are trying to help. More than half (53%) of teachers believe they lack the training they need to support children’s speech and language development.¹ Government has stopped funding the Early Years Professional Development Programme which skilled up nursery staff and childminders in language and communication. Schools are not funded to provide group language programmes until Reception.  Meanwhile, speech and language therapy services are stretched to breaking point – underfunded, oversubscribed, and unable to meet soaring demand.

What’s more, accessing and benefiting from NHS talking therapies is challenging, if not impossible, for children who struggle with talking and understanding words.  The crisis is particularly acute in disadvantaged areas, where up to 50% of children started school behind in communication and language even before the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.⁸

The people behind the issue

Siouxsie is 19 and lives in Hertfordshire with her family. She has Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a lifelong condition that affects at least two children in every classroom. Her mother, Rachel, has spent years tirelessly advocating for the right support – often in the face of disbelief or dismissal.

Now 19, Siouxsie is facing even greater barriers than before. She said:  “None of my teachers knew what DLD was, and none of them knew how to support a student struggling the way I do – so I was ignored, invisible and left to struggle alone at school.

“My anxiety is so intense that I don’t like leaving the house and avoid shops, restaurants, and any social situations where I might have to speak to someone. I find it impossible to make friends because I feel isolated and different, and the fear of speaking leaves me trapped and alone. My only friend is my twin sister. She has SEND too, so we understand each other.

“I’ve been battling with my mental health for years and at the core of it is this exhausting fight to communicate and be understood. I feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and disconnected from the world around me. When I do try to get help its impossible. The therapies offered don’t work for people like me.

“There is nowhere for us to go. We are square pegs, constantly being forced into round holes. We may as well be invisible.”

Siouxsie’s mother, Rachel, said: “Siouxsie masks all her symptoms. I’ve had people say to me before ‘Well she looks normal’, but behind closed doors, she’s on the frontline of a relentless personal battle with unimaginable realities. We have had countless doors slammed in our faces and unsupportive, unhelpful and futile conversations with institutions who are meant to be there to support those like Siouxsie. Please listen to an exhausted mother who simply wants her daughter to have the same accessible support and opportunities in life as other children.”

What needs to change

In response to the findings, Speech and Language UK is calling on the Government to take urgent action, including:

• Integrating speech and language support into the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan
• Mandatory training for mental health practitioners in schools on recognising and supporting speech challenges
• Better collaboration between speech therapy and mental health services to end fragmented care
• Investment in research to find the most effective ways of supporting young people with mental health and speech and language challenges
• Early identification tools in nurseries and schools
• Specialist training for teachers and mental health teams

Across the country, teachers, therapists and families are fighting every day to support these children – but they’re up against a system that’s fragmented, overstretched and under-resourced.

Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, said: “This report reveals a national tragedy – we’re failing our most vulnerable children twice over. When a child can’t express how they feel or understand what’s happening around them, their world becomes frightening and isolating. We then offer mental health therapies they can’t access – it simply doesn’t make sense. These children are being let down at every turn. We cannot let their voices go unheard any longer.

“The solutions are clear and achievable. We know what works – we just need the political will and resources to make it happen. We need a system that truly sees and supports every child. The longer we wait, the deeper the damage becomes to children, families, and society. We cannot – and will not – accept this as inevitable.”

Andy Bell, Chief Executive at Centre for Mental Health, said: “Too many children are missing out on mental health support because existing services aren’t adapting to meet their needs. This has to change. Both education and health services must be resourced to meet a child’s health, social, educational and developmental needs holistically.”

-ENDS-

 

For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Hannah Sherrard: [email protected] | [email protected]

Amelia Moran: [email protected] | [email protected]

Notes to editors

About the research

References

1. Speech and Language UK (2023) Listening to unheard children: a shocking rise in speech and language challenges, https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2024/03/Listening-to-unheard-children-report-FINAL.pdf
2. Conti-Ramsden, G., & Botting, N. (2008) Risk of affective disorders in adolescents with a history of SLI. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 516-525. Doi:10.1111/j.1469- 7610.2007.01858.x.
3. Hollo, A. et al (2014) Unidentified language deficits in children with emotional and behavioural disorders: a meta-analysis. Exceptional Children 2014: 80(2): 169-186.
4. Cohen., N et al (2013) Higher order language competence and adolescent mental health. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(7), 733-744
5. NHS Digital (2018) Mental health of children and young people in England, 2017, https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017
6. NHS digital (2023), Mental health of children and young people in England, 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey, Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – NHS England Digitalhttps://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and- young-people-in-england/2020-wave-1-follow-up
7. Speech and Language UK (2022) 1.7 million young futures, https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1.7-million-young-futures-FINAL.pdf
8. Law, J., McBean, K., and Rush, R (2011) Communication skills in a population of primary school-aged children raised in an area of pronounced social disadvantage. International journal of language & communication disorders / Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists. 46. 657-64. 10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00036.x.

About Speech and Language UK

For at least two million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feels like an impossible hurdle. We work to give every child the skills they need to face the future with confidence. We design innovative tools and training for thousands of early years staff and teachers to use in their classrooms. We run two special schools for children with complex speech and language challenges, Dawn House in Nottinghamshire and Meath in Surrey. We give families the confidence and skills to help their children. And we put pressure on politicians to prioritise help for speech and language challenges.

We demand a country in which every child with challenges in talking and understanding words has the skills they need to face the future with confidence. Together we can achieve it.

About Centre for Mental Health

Centre for Mental Health is an independent charity. We take the lead in challenging injustices in policies, systems and society, so that everyone can have better mental health. Learn more: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk