Developmental language disorder (DLD) affects approximately 8% of children worldwide, yet the condition remains under-recognised and under-served compared to other developmental conditions such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD, experts warn. DLD severely impairs a child's ability to learn, use and understand spoken language, with lifelong consequences for mental health, socialisation, literacy, academic performance and quality of life.
Identifying DLD in multilingual children poses particular challenges. In England, around 21% of schoolchildren grow up with a first language other than English. While most children's language development is typical, children with DLD show problems across all their languages and need specialist help. In contrast, typically developing multilingual children may only struggle in a language they need more exposure to, such as English at school.
Contrary to longstanding myths, learning multiple languages does not cause or exacerbate DLD. Support for DLD should sustain all of a child's languages, as these are critical for wellbeing, identity and family relationships. Key signs that a multilingual child may be at risk for DLD include persistent difficulty following instructions, limited vocabulary in all languages, and problems with storytelling or understanding emotions in voices.
However, UK-based speech and language therapists often lack reliable tools to assess children in all their languages, and few therapists have multilingual proficiency. This can lead to DLD being missed or typical multilingual development being mislabelled as disordered. Promising new tools, such as the UK bilingual toddlers assessment tool and the Litmus battery, are helping to address this gap.
Researchers at Newcastle University are also developing a dynamic assessment resource that uses enjoyable activities to detect DLD by exploring children's learning potential in areas such as storytelling and emotion recognition. Accurate, timely diagnosis and support are essential, as young people with DLD are overrepresented in the youth justice system, and adults with DLD are more likely to face employment difficulties.
