Let’s Talk About It: Exploring Child Speech and Language Developmental Difficulties

Developmental Language Disorder: What is the most common childhood condition you have probably never heard of? If you are a teacher, you probably have at least 2 children with this condition in your classroom. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) refers to the presence of language difficulties that are significant, persistent and have an impact on every day social interactions and academic progress. DLD affects approximately 7% of the population.

The term DLD is relatively new, having been adopted in 2016 to replace a range of other terms including Specific Language Impairment. This presentation will cover diagnosis of DLD, and other related conditions such as Language Difficulties, strategies to support children with DLD and the importance of advocacy for children with DLD.

Social, Emotional and Academic Development in Children with Speech and Language Delay. By the end of the session you will have an understanding of the impact of a speech and language delay on the social, emotional and academic development of the child.

During the session we will touch on the learnings from Hattie’s research and how it applies to these students. We will also explore “The Whole Child Concept” within the classroom environment and the interplay of social, emotional and self-regulatory skills on learning. We will briefly explore some of the interventions to mediate the impact of speech and language delay in the classroom.

Finally, we will explore the role of the Psychologist at Telethon Speech & Hearing in supporting our students and how we can work with you as a part of the multidisciplinary team approach.