Highland campaign targets hidden language disorder affecting one in 14 people

Parents, teachers and employers are being urged to recognise the signs of Developmental Language Disorder, as campaigners warn patchy awareness is leaving children and families without vital support.

Across the Highlands, campaigners are trying to bring Developmental Language Disorder into sharper public view during the October school holidays, as parents, teachers and employers are urged to learn the signs of a condition that affects more than one million children across the UK.

Rebecca Johnston, the Highland ambassador for the charity RADLD, said the disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how the brain acquires and uses language. She said it is far more common than many people realise, affecting about one in 14 people, yet it remains poorly recognised and frequently misunderstood.

Specialists say DLD is not simply a child being late to talk. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists says the condition affects roughly 7.58% of children and can make it harder to understand and use language, with early support from speech and language therapists often improving outcomes. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders similarly describes DLD as a communication disorder that can interfere with learning, understanding and using language, while stressing that it is not explained by autism or hearing loss.

Johnston said children with DLD may tell disjointed stories, struggle to find the right word, use vague language or have grammar that seems immature for their age. She also pointed to memory problems that can make it difficult to follow classroom instructions, retain information or explain what happened during the school day. Because the term DLD was only formally introduced in 2017, and because Covid-19 disrupted awareness efforts, she said recognition in the Highlands remains patchy.

That uneven recognition can leave families isolated, particularly in areas where support groups are built around autism and other more familiar conditions. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists says appropriate support can make a difference not only in education but also in later employment and social development, and the college’s recent four-nation report warned that language-related support needs are rising sharply in Scotland, where 43% of pupils are already identified as having additional support needs.

Johnston said a diagnosis should be seen as a route to help, not a limitation. She compared DLD with dyslexia, arguing that, with the right accommodations, people can succeed at school and work. For parents worried about speech, language or memory, her advice was straightforward: raise concerns early with a school or health visitor so that children can be assessed and, where necessary, supported before problems deepen.