A new project and website aimed at expanding the reach of research to help the parents and carers of children experiencing language difficulties has been launched, coinciding with International Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day. The project is led by researchers at the University of Bath, who are collaborating with colleagues here at the Faculty of Education, as well as at City University, London.

Estimates suggest that around 7% of all young people over the age of five meet criteria for a diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder or DLD – a persistent language difficulty that cannot obviously be explained. Many of these children will never receive a diagnosis or see a speech and language therapist, which is leading to long-term negative impacts for individuals, their families and for wider society.

The aim of the new project is to work with the parents and carers of children with DLD, as well as those unsure about diagnosis, and to help parents feel more informed about the latest developments in this area by making academic research more relevant and applicable. The team also want fresh ideas and inputs from families about the challenges they face, which could inspire future studies.

The new website, ‘Engage with DLD’ will provide links to resources to help parents worried about their child’s language development, including signposting to get support from speech and language therapists in local areas around the country. As well as making research more accessible, a key aim is to provide a platform enabling families to get actively involved in new and ongoing research from a wide variety of research groups across the UK and beyond.

Dr Jenny Gibson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education at the Faculty of Education, said: “Our long-term hope is that better research collaborations, including partnerships with those affected by DLD and between research centres across the UK and beyond, will lead to improved access to diagnosis and subsequent support for children with DLD."

Project lead, Dr Michelle St Clair from the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath explained: “DLD is a very real problem for a number of young people and their families but all too often we see the diagnoses are missed and the ramifications of this on individual’s lives can be profound.”

“One of the issues is around awareness of the condition within schools and other education settings. Another is the fact that it is very difficult to conduct research on these families and therefore it’s hard to breakdown some of the barriers which persist for them in getting help. By launching this project today, we really want parents and carers from right around the UK and beyond to get involved by sharing their experiences and feeding in ideas that can shape future research and, we hope, make a difference to the lives of many.”

“At present the condition is so under-recognised that many studies tend to be small, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the best treatments and support. Our goal is to build momentum in this research area so that we can make a significant difference to the lives of everyone affected by DLD.”