Speech and Language UK joins collaboration to launch new vision for people with DLD
Speech and Language UK has been working with Afasic, NAPLIC and RCSLT alongside people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and their families to launch a new vision for the future.
DLD is a form of neurodiversity in which children do not acquire language as expected. People with DLD may have challenges with understanding what others say to them and with articulating their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
The DLD vision aims to provide a brighter future for people with DLD and was developed through a series of workshops with adults and young people with DLD and their families. Together the group came up with five key ambitions for what they would like to see in the future:
We [people with DLD] want a world in which…
- We are diagnosed early
- All schools and workplaces meet our needs
- We are independent
- Everyone knows about DLD
- We access support easily
DLD affects approximately 7.5% of the school-aged population and is a persistent, life-long condition that impacts every aspect of a person’s life. Without the proper support in place, people with DLD are at increased risk of negative outcomes.
The vision for the future, driven by people with and affected by DLD, will guide the collaborative work of our organisations in developing a long-term plan which aims to move towards a society that understands and embraces DLD in health, education, employment, leisure and all aspects of life, leading to a brighter future and improved outcomes for all people with DLD.
This Friday marks DLD Awareness Day (20th October) and this year’s theme is DLD Around the World, highlighting that DLD occurs in every language.
Find out more about the DLD vision and how you can get involved and help to make change happen here.
