The issue

Two million children in the UK are currently struggling with talking and understanding words. Learn more about the scale of the issue and how you can help us make a difference.

The issue

Making an impact

For children who struggle to talk and understand words, their whole lives are affected. Our recent report, Listening to unheard children, found that they are:

  • six times more likely to be behind in English at age 11
  • eleven times more likely to be behind in maths at age 11
  • have more mental health problems
  • twice as likely to be unemployed as an adult

These figures show the scale of the challenge in front of us. We believe that every child should be able to get speech and language support when they need it so they aren’t left behind.

Support our life-changing campaigns

Understanding the issue

A perfect storm: Mental health and speech and language challenges

Our latest report reveals that children with speech and language challenges are facing a shocking double disadvantage. We must act now to build mental health services that work for every child.
Stand up for young lives