How do I find out if I have Developmental Language Disorder?
If you are at school or college then speak to a teacher, or the person who supports students with extra needs. In England this person is called a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo).
You might want to talk to a Speech and Language Therapist (Pathologist). There may be a Speech and Language Therapist that comes to your school, or they might work in clinics.
DLD can affect each person differently. The main way to diagnose DLD is for speech and language therapist (pathologist) to assess your language skills and its impact on your life. Educational Psychologists or Paediatricians may also be able to support with diagnosing DLD.
A speech and language therapist (pathologist) can also work on the parts of language that you find hard to help to make things easier.
It is really important to tell important people in your life that you have DLD so that they can support you. This includes telling your family, teachers and employer.
Think about who you want to tell, when is the best time to tell them, how you are going to tell them and what you might say.
Top Tips for Talking and Understanding
Ask people to say things again if you didn't understand
Ask teachers to write important things down for you
Use a dictionary or look things up on your phone
When you can't think of a word, talk around it or use gestures or drawing
Write tricky topic words into a book to help you remember them
There are lots of ways of helping you manage your DLD. A speech and language therapist (pathologist) can work with you to find strategies that will work for you.