17 October 2025
To mark this years’ Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Day we look at how the DLD vision, launched in 2023, has been shaping our work and how we are raising awareness of DLD.
DLD affects approximately 7.5% of the school-aged population and is a persistent, life-long condition that impacts every aspect of a person’s life. People with DLD may have challenges with understanding what others say to them and with articulating their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
The theme of this year’s DLD Day, “You Can’t See DLD”, calls on everyone to speak up for the invisible needs of people with DLD — especially in schools and workplaces, where spoken language is central to participation and success. Without the proper support in place, people with DLD are at increased risk of negative outcomes.
Last month the RCSLT released the top 10 research priorities for DLD. This project refined earlier priorities and developed specific research questions about DLD, guided by input from individuals with DLD, their families, and professionals across sectors.
Despite growing awareness, DLD remains under-researched and underfunded. Many affected individuals feel misunderstood, and while early intervention is crucial, support for adults is still lacking. These priorities aim to shape future research and services, marking the beginning of a broader movement that relies on continued collaboration to improve lifelong outcomes for people with DLD. The full report includes the top 10 questions, an easy-read version, and a summary of the top 20.
Get involved with DLD Day
To join in on DLD day check out our social media activities. We will be sharing our own Faces of SLT post, which focuses on Charles Oni, who was a young child when he received his diagnosis of DLD, followed by years of speech and language therapy.
You can also look out for updates on Instagram from our Northern Ireland team as Ruth Sedgewick (Head of Northern Ireland Office) and Sue McBride (N.I. Policy Advisor) visit 4 post primary schools, raising awareness of DLD and talking about our work on exam language modifications and sharing the RADLD education based accommodations (published last year). Ruth and Sue will hopefully be joined on their visits by MLAs and an MP.
Be sure to listen to the latest podcast from the RCSLT International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, exploring a recent study on how young people with DLD experience language and communication in school. Guided by the question: ‘How do young people diagnosed with DLD describe their experiences of language and communication in school?’ This discussion sheds light on the nuanced, often overlooked realities of navigating education with DLD — from peer interactions to classroom dynamics.
