A SPEECH and language therapist whose son has Developmental Language Disorder is shining a light on the critical underdiagnosis of the condition ahead of its international awareness day.

Nicola Bartley, from Comberbach, works with children who have the common disorder, which flies under the radar despite being seven times as prevalent as autism.

The condition was ‘rebranded’ as DLD last year, in a bid to improve understanding and reduce the chances of misdiagnosis.

It can leave children finding difficulty understanding what people say to them, and struggling to articulate their ideas and feelings

An international awareness day on Friday, October 19, aims to let people know that the condition exists and can be tackled early on, with two children in every classroom of 30 thought to be affected in some way.

Nicola said: “DLD means a difficulty with understanding or using language or both.

“For my son, it meant difficulties in both of those areas as well as with remembering information he heard and speaking with all the right sounds in all the right places.

“It made life very difficult for him and impacted on everything from making friends to managing at school.”

A hidden disability for many, DLD is seen as an underlying cause for many social, emotional, mental health or behavioural difficulties among children.

These undiagnosed speech, language or communication needs leads to higher chances of brushes with crime, unemployment, depression and anxiety.

“The good news is that early identification and the right kind of support is extremely effective,” Nicola added.

“My son’s ability to understand and use language is now within the expected range for his age.

“He still has DLD but it won’t stop him reaching his potential.”

If you are worried about a child’s language development, the first point of contact should be a speech and language therapy service, through a teacher or health visitor who will know the referral process.

n See more about DLD at radld.org or search for #DLDABC on Twitter.