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Inclusion by design for young people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

For mainstream secondary school staff

a

This presentation is designed to introduce and raise awareness of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).�It has been written by qualified and experienced speech and language therapists at Speech and Language UK.
The original version of this training was commissioned by Whole School SEND as part of a wider package of resources and training on DLD for school staff. It was reviewed by SENCos from primary and secondary mainstream settings across the UK, and their suggestions were incorporated.
We have since updated elements of the training to ensure it remains relevant to the current educational context.

Notes for the presenter

Notes beneath each slide outline key points for the presenter to share with the audience.
Anything shown in italics (like this) is intended as a prompt or consideration for the presenter—such as an optional activity or reflection point.
You can adapt the length of the session depending on your available time. Reviewers recommend delivering this training as a twilight session or during an INSET day.
The training can also be divided into 1–1.5 hour sections, allowing attendees time to reflect between sessions. For example:

Session 1: What is DLD? / Prevalence / Long-term impact
Session 2: What DLD looks like in the classroom / Universal support strategies
Session 3: Targeted and specialist support for children and young people with DLD

Optional activities are included throughout. You may choose to use all, some, or none of these depending on the time available and the size of your group.
You may delete, add or amend slides as needed. We recommend you adapt the slides to reflect your own context. For example, when discussing specialist support, adapt the content to reflect the provision available in your local area.

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What we will cover

What is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)?
How many young people are affected by DLD?
Potential long-term impacts of DLD
What DLD can look like in the classroom
Universal practices to support all young people
Targeted, targeted plus, and specialist support for young people with DLD
When to raise concerns

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Lily Farrington’s DLD animation

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwOfkj0dj_0

Video

Open YouTube and watch video (2 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwOfkj0dj_0

This video is helpful because she talks about how it feels for her and what her experience of it is.
She was only diagnosed at 15 – this goes to show that young people with DLD can go undetected for a really long time – so its important for us all to be aware of the possible indicators!

Let me now ask you 3 quick questions:

Raise your hand if the girl in this video reminded you of any young people at our school
Keep your hand raised if the young people you are thinking of are known to speech and language therapy
Now finally, keep your hand raised if those young people have a diagnosis of DLD

Of course not all the young people you are thinking of will have DLD – but some of them may, and it’s likely that many of them aren’t identified.

Note to presenter: remember you can delete slides as needed – see the symbol in the top right hand corner of the slides that show if they are designed specifically for primary/secondary staff

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What things does Lily struggle with?

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Everything else

Lily’s story

Challenges talking and understanding words

Speech and language challenges affect MORE than a young person’s talking and understanding of words

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Young people with speech and language challenges are over three times less likely to achieve a grade 5 or above in GCSE Maths and English

DfE, 2023: 14.2% of pupils with speech, language and communication needs achieved a grade 5 or above at GCSE Maths and English (compared to 45% of all pupils)

Speech and language challenges impact how well young people do at school

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Impact on literacy

More than 90% of children who have persistent language difficulties at age five have literacy difficulties at age 15.

(Stothard et al., 1998)

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Impact on emotional wellbeing and behaviour

81% of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have significant language difficulties, often unidentified.

�(Hollo et al., 2014)

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Impact on exclusion rates

One study found that two-thirds of pupils at risk of permanent exclusion from a secondary school had language difficulties.

(Clegg et al., 2009)

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At least 60% of young offenders have language difficulties.

(Bryan et al., 2015)

Impact on youth offending rates

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Without skills in talking and understanding words, young people will struggle

To make friends

To learn

To get a job

To have good mental health

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The communication chain

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How do communication skills typically develop?

From (or even before) birth

Through interacting with others

Following expected patterns

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Understanding/ receptive language

Talking/

expressive language

Social communication

Play

Attention and listening

Speech

There are lots of different skills involved in communicating with others. We are going to talk through six key communication skills. It’s helpful to know about all of these skills because when a young person is struggling, you can think more carefully about which skill they are struggling with and what support they might need.

Talking means the words and sentences that young people say. It includes sign language or using a communication device. This is also called ‘expressive language’.

Understanding involves understanding words and sentences, or signs and symbols. This is also called ‘receptive language’.

Social communication means the skills we use to communicate, and interact with other people - such as taking turns or asking for help. Social communication skills vary across different cultures and groups of people.

Play means the ways children and young people explore their world and enjoy themselves, both with toys and with other people. We often think of play as being more important in the early years and primary, but it’s still a factor for us to consider at secondary, and it links closely with social communication.

Attention and Listening means being able to focus on what someone is saying or doing.

Speech includes speech sounds. For example, in English we use the speech sounds ‘c-a-t’ to say the word ‘cat’. Speech also includes if a young person stammers or not, and the quality of a young person’s voice.

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Things don’t always go to plan…

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2 million children and young people in the UK with speech and language challenges

2 million

children are struggling with talking and understanding words in the UK right now.

https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/the-issue/our-campaigns/support-not-sanctions-making-school-fair-for-2-million-children/

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More children and young people struggle with talking and understanding words in areas of disadvantage

In one primary school in an area of high deprivation,

40% of pupils were found to have language difficulties.

(Law et al., 2011)

In one secondary school in an area of social deprivation, �84% of students were found to have poor language skills.

(Spencer et al., 2012)

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Speech and language challenges

Challenges talking and understanding words

Speech, language and communication needs

Language disorder associated with…

Speech sound disorder

Developmental language disorder (DLD)

Etc…

Stammering

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

There are lots of different terms that are used when young people struggle with talking and understanding words. On this slide we’ll explain some of those terms and how they all relate to each other.
Terms at the top of this umbrella all effectively mean the same thing – they are umbrella terms to describe when a young person has any kind of difficulties with talking and understanding words.
Speech, language and communication needs, or SLCN, is the term commonly used in an education context.
Speech and language challenges / challenges talking and understanding words – are simpler terms used in the sector to mean the same thing. Speech and Language UK asked some young people and families which terms made the most sense to them, and these were the terms they chose.
Underneath the umbrella are some examples of different diagnoses that a young person could be given. These are different types of speech and language challenge. This is not an exhaustive list – there are many other examples.
Developmental language disorder is one of the most common kinds of speech and language challenge – but awareness of it is still very low.

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DLD can co-occur with some other conditions

A young person could be diagnosed with two or more conditions, e.g.

DLD and dyslexia
DLD and speech sound disorder
DLD and ADHD

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No known cause

Runs in families

NOT caused by:

Learning another language
Parenting
Screen time
Etc…

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DLD is common

~7.6% of children

Norbury et al (2016)

DLD has been called the most common childhood condition that most people have never heard of.
It affects approximately 2 children in every average classroom of 30 in the UK.
Because awareness of DLD is so low, many children and young people with DLD are not being identified – and therefore are not having their needs met.
DLD is thought to be approximately 7 times more common than autism – yet lots of people have never heard of it.

NB: ~7.6% should appear on the screen when presenter clicks mouse

^{*Surrey Communication and Language in Education Study (SCALES), an epidemiological study in the UK (Norbury et al, 2016). Based on assessment of a population sample of children in state-maintained classrooms in the first few years of school. The researchers estimated the total population prevalence of language disorder to be 9.92%. The prevalence of language disorder of unknown origin was estimated to be 7.58%, while the prevalence of language impairment associated with intellectual disability and/or existing medical diagnosis was 2.34%. These estimates are consistent with previous population studies in the United States (7.4%, Tomblin et al. 1997). The researchers advise that these are estimates and precise numbers in a given community may vary depending on the diagnostic criteria and assessments employed to identify children, and the local context (estimates may be higher in areas of socio-economic disadvantage).}

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How many young people have DLD in our setting?

https://radld.org/about/dld/population-calculator/

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Language underlies everything we do

Reading & writing

Reading comprehension

Learning new concepts / vocabulary

Understanding explanations

Following instructions

Resolving conflicts in the playground

Following the rules of a sport/game

Negotiating with peers

Language underlies much of what we do at school and in life.
An obvious link is the one between spoken language and reading and writing. If young people have difficulties with any aspects of spoken language, you will notice the impact in their reading and written language as well.
Some young people with DLD will learn how to decode so they can read aloud fluently, but this won’t get them very far if they can’t understand what they have read. Reading comprehension is likely to be affected.
Young people with DLD are also likely to have difficulty learning new concepts and vocabulary, which then impacts their learning.
They might struggle to understand your explanations and follow your instructions.
In the playground, they might struggle resolving conflicts and negotiating with peers.
Even sports and games rely on language to explain the rules – so young people with DLD may struggle with this as well.

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The wider impact

Mental health

Academic attainment

Employment prospects

Friendships

Behaviour

Reasoning

Social and emotional wellbeing

Organisation

Then we see a wider impact in other areas as well, such as those shown on this slide.
They might struggle to make friends because they take longer to process what has been said and are less good at expressing themselves and keeping up in conversations.
This can be apparent in primary school, but then becomes more pronounced by secondary school, when communication between peers becomes a lot more nuanced, subtle and fast-paced.
Some may get into trouble or have conflicts with peers in the playground, but can’t explain what has happened whereas others can fluently describe incidents.
A really high proportion of young people with DLD have mental health difficulties.
81% of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have underlying language difficulties, often unidentified (Hollo et al 2014)
One of the problems here is that mental health support usually involves talking therapies, like counselling, which these young people can’t access.
We also see difficulties in areas like behaviour and reasoning.
And finally language difficulties often result in lower academic attainment, and even affect employment prospects later on.
DfE GCSE results from 2019 indicate that young people with speech, language and communication needs achieved an average attainment 8 score (25.8) that was close to half that of their peers with no identified SEN (49.9) (Department for Education, 2019).
Children with poor vocabulary skills are twice as likely to be unemployed when they reach adulthood. Law, J. et al (2009)

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What you can do

Know the signs: spot young people who may have DLD (or other speech and language challenges)
Create a communication-supportive environment for ALL young people
Put additional targeted, targeted plus or specialist support in place for those who need it

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1. Know the signs: spot young people with potential speech and language challenges (including DLD)

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What might it look like in the classroom?

Think about…

Attention and listening
Behaviour
Social interaction and friendships
Talking
Understanding
Academic work – across all subjects (English, Maths, Science etc.)

Activity

Activity – discuss in small groups and feedback. 5 mins discussion & 5-10 mins for feedback – you could either ask each group to feedback on one of the elements on this slide, or you could get each group to think about everything and then feed back a couple of the main points they talked about. Write key indicators on the board as groups feed back – then refer to the points on the next few slides to highlight the key indicators.

Now let’s think about what these young people might look like in your classroom, so you know some signs to look out for.
Remember we said that DLD is referred to as a hidden or invisible disability – so there is no one set of criteria to use.
Think about what you MIGHT notice in the classroom though – in terms of attention, behaviour, social interaction, talking, understanding, and finally academic work.

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What might it look like in the classroom?

Some words that secondary teachers used to describe how DLD might present in the classroom

Secondary

This slide is a word cloud that was generated by secondary school teachers during an I CAN webinar in Autumn 2020. We asked them what DLD might present like in the classroom and this is what they told us. Talk through this based on your discussion already – some extra notes below to discuss further.

This word cloud has a few of the key indicators or behaviours that you might notice in your classroom.
It’s a word cloud that was generated by secondary school teachers during an I CAN webinar in Autumn 2020 when asked “how do you think young people with DLD present in the classroom?”
As we said, DLD is often described as an “invisible” or “hidden” disability. Particularly if it hasn’t been picked up at a younger age, it can be easy to mistake for a behaviour problem once young people reach adolescence.
Conversely, sometimes these young people have learned lots of masking behaviours by secondary age, and so they might present as very quiet and compliant.
Often they might seem to just be one step behind where the other kids are in a social situation – and so because of that they struggle with friendships.

Note to presenter: remember you can delete slides as needed – see the symbol in the top right hand corner of the slides that show if they are designed specifically for primary/secondary staff

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What might it look like: video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAsf_Wqjz4g

Video

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Young people who…

struggle to follow instructions
use lots of words with vague or general meanings e.g. ‘put’, ‘thing’, ‘do’
seem isolated from others or struggle to join in
struggle to explain ideas or tell stories without getting muddled
seem ‘quiet’ or take a long time to respond
have difficulty learning or remembering new words or concepts
can be disruptive in class, or have social, emotional or mental health needs.

Signs to look out for

TA

Teachers

SaLT

Parents

SENCo

Here are a few key things that you can look out for. Young people who…

Watch their peers to work out what to do – because they struggle to listen & understand the instruction
Use lots of general words e.g., ‘put’, ‘thing’, ‘do’ – because they struggle to learn new words so have less developed vocabulary
Seem isolated from others or struggle to join in because of their challenges with language skills
Struggle to explain ideas or tell stories without getting muddled – it’s hard to follow what they are saying and make sense of it
Seem ‘quiet’ or take a long time to respond – because they are struggling to understand or they’ve tuned out of listening
Struggle to ‘read between the lines’ – when you say ‘pull your socks up’ they don’t understand because the meaning isn’t obvious.
Display behaviour that challenges or have SEMH needs. Some young people disengage from learning because they do not understand what they should be doing. Others use distraction or avoiding work to hide their challenges.
Show signs of poor well-being due to the repeated failures they have to communicate, or the impact of ‘feeling different’ on their self esteem.
When looking out for all of these things, it can be helpful to compare observations from different people around the young person
For example, parents or carers will have their own observations based on how the young person presents at home and in environments other than school
They can also give you a history- it may be that the young person’s difficulties have been spotted before and parents/carers have already raised concerns (although many children also slip through the net so don’t assume that a child’s difficulties have already been identified – you may be the first one to spot they are struggling and put support in place)
The SENCo & other professionals may also be able to provide historical information from the child’s record about previous specialist assessments, interventions they may have taken part in, etc.

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Free tools you can use

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dAkFpc43x3CE56apJfINx2O1uaRJVvqf/view

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Free tools you can use

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zMjTZPbSJ6qoc0_SWbzd7KoXY5O5rwOC/view

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Free tools you can use

https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/ages-and-stages/

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Choose one of the tools that we have just shared.
Practise using this tool to think about a child who you have concerns about – they might be struggling with learning, friendships or behaviour.
Work through the tool and think about whether this child may have underlying speech and language challenges.

Identification tools

Activity

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Learning more than one language does NOT cause or contribute to speech and language challenges

Bilingual children and young people are just as likely to have speech and language challenges as their monolingual peers

(RCSLT, 2021; RALLI, 2013)

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Having strong skills in their home language can help children learn English better

(Juarez 83, Duncan & Gibbs 1989, Leung 1996, Rodby 1998, Cummins 2000)

Encourage families to speak their strongest language to their child

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Bilingual young people with DLD will have difficulties in BOTH / ALL languages

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Key signs to look out for in bilingual young people

Are the family concerned about their child’s abilities in their home language(s)?
Is there a family history of language or learning difficulties?
Is the young person progressing more slowly than peers who are learning English as an additional language – even with extra support?

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2. Create a communication-supportive environment for all young people

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Layers of support

Specialist

Targeted

Universal

Targeted plus

Children and young people need support to develop and use their speech, language and communication skills. This Layers of support model helps us to think about the different type of support that is available to children and young people. Following the UK Government’s schools white paper and SEND reform consultation (2026), there are four layers of support: Universal, targeted, targeted plus and specialist. Children and young people don’t have to progress through the layers in order, and they may need support from more than one layer at the same time.

Children and young people can move between the layers as their needs change over time, depending on:

their age
the type and complexity of any speech and language challenges they have
the environment they are in, or transitioning into.

Universal: High quality teaching and support that benefits all children and young people’s development of speech, language and communication skills. This includes adaptive teaching strategies like modelling words and using simple language.

Targeted: Support for children and young people with commonly occurring speech and language challenges. This includes group interventions delivered by school staff, like our Talk Boost programmes. It also includes adult strategies like pre-teaching key vocabulary and using key-word signing with children.

Targeted plus: Support for children and young people with less commonly occurring speech and language challenges who need more personalised support from other health or education professionals. It may include advice from a speech and language therapist, and/or support delivered in an Inclusion Base. An example is a programme delivered by a speech and language assistant and overseen by a speech and language therapist to support a child’s speech sound development.

Specialist: Support for children and young people with the most complex speech and language challenges who might have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Support at this level may be delivered in a specialist base or through a special school. An example is a speech and language therapist supporting a child learning to use an eye gaze device to communicate.

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We all understand what DLD is and the impact it can have on learning and behaviour.
We all use communication-supportive strategies all the time.
We use high-quality teaching that supports all young people’s speech, language and communication development.
We have tools to identify young people who are struggling with talking and understanding words.

What does good universal support look like?

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Examples of universal support

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A communication-supportive environment for all young people includes:

The physical environment
Strategies that adults use
Opportunities young people have to practise their speech, language and communication skills

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1. The physical environment

Reduce background noise.
Reduce classroom clutter.
Consider how the layout and sensory environment impacts on attention and regulation.
Plan and use visual supports, like:

pictures, symbols, diagrams, mind maps
write down key information and instructions
highlight/underline/bold key words
use a written timetable/list of activities for the lesson.

The first area to consider in a communication-supportive environment is the physical environment. Some examples of how to do that are given on this slide.
Reduce background noise – this helps young people attend to what you are saying without having to filter out additional noise. You could do this by closing doors and windows, and ensuring only one person is speaking at a time (adjust this based on policies/procedures in your setting).
Reduce classroom clutter to support attention and reduce the need for young people to filter out distractions. Ask yourself, who or what is this display actually for?
What does the layout invite young people to do? For example, long corridors invite young people to run, comfortable chairs in clusters invite young people to sit and talk.
Consider how the sensory environment impacts on attention and regulation. Stand in the space… how does it make you feel? Stressed? Calm? Distracted? Does how you feel match what young people should be feeling in the space e.g. energised, peaceful, inspired?
Plan and use visual supports to explain key concepts - like pictures, symbols, graphs, diagrams, and mind maps.
Write down key information and instructions at the front of the class. Highlight/underline/bold key words or put them in a different colour.
Use a written timetable or write on the board the activities for the lesson so that young people know what to expect. Refer to it and update regularly.

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2. Strategies that adults use

Modelling
Build on what young people say.
Give sentence starters.
Break instructions into chunks.
Plan the type of questions you will use.
Give extra thinking time.
Gain young people’s attention before you talk.
Teach the meaning of new words.
Create an asking-friendly environment.

How adults talk with young people makes a big difference to their speech, language and communication development. In secondary settings, key strategies include:

Modelling: Say words, phrases or sentence structures that young people could use themselves in discussions, presentations or written work. This is especially helpful when introducing subject‑specific or abstract vocabulary.�For example: “Evaluate means to judge something based on evidence. For example, I might evaluate which revision strategy helped me learn most effectively.”

When a young person makes a language error, model it back rather than correcting.�For example: if a young person says, “The graph don’t make sense,” you might respond, “Yes, the graph doesn’t make sense at first — let’s look at why.”

Build on what young people say: Expand or deepen their ideas and language to support more complex thinking.�For example: if a young person says, “I think the character is stressed,” you could say, “Yes, the character seems stressed — especially because they’re under pressure to hide the truth from their friends.”

Give sentence starters: Provide spoken or written prompts to help young people express ideas clearly, especially during discussions or extended answers.�For example:

“One possible explanation is…”

“The evidence suggests that…”

“A different perspective might be…”

These can be displayed on the board, kept on cue cards, or added to notebooks.

Break instructions into chunks: Give short, clear steps in the order you want them followed.�For example: “First, summarise the key point. Then highlight one quote. Finally, write two sentences explaining your choice.”

Plan your questions: Think carefully about the type of response you want and what level of support individual young people may need.

Open questions encourage more detailed thinking.�E.g. “What leads you to that conclusion?”
Closed questions support quick checking of understanding.�E.g. “Is this example a metaphor or a simile?”
Choice questions reduce pressure and support those who find open questions difficult.�E.g. “Do you think the rise in cases is due to behaviour or environment?”

Give young people thinking time: Allow a pause before expecting responses. This supports young people who need extra time to organise their thoughts.�You can also build in thinking time before a task — for example, one minute to jot down ideas before a debate or before answering a 6‑mark question.

Gain young people’s full attention: Make sure everyone is focused before giving instructions or important information.

Teach the meaning of new words: Explicitly teach key vocabulary — especially subject‑specific, academic or technical terms. Revisit new words regularly and check for understanding.�For example: defining “photosynthesis” is not enough — young people need repeated opportunities to use it in explanations, diagrams and written answers.

Create an asking‑friendly classroom: Encourage young people to ask questions, request clarification and say when something doesn’t make sense. This supports self-advocacy skills and independent learning.

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3. Opportunities young people have to practise their communication skills

Talking partner or paired discussion activities
Small group tasks with clear roles
Group discussions
Collaborative problem-solving activities
Peer interactions
Opportunities for role play and performance

A communication‑supportive environment in secondary settings means young people have regular, purposeful opportunities to use and develop their speech, language and communication skills throughout the school day. These could include:

Talking partner or paired discussion activities: Planned throughout lessons so young people can rehearse ideas with a partner before feeding back to the class.�For example: think–pair–share before analysing a poem, debating an issue, or planning a science investigation.

Small group tasks with clear roles: Group work where roles (e.g. summariser, evidence‑spotter, questioner, presenter) help young people contribute in different ways and practise different communication skills.�This supports balanced participation and helps those who need structure.

Structured group discussions: Opportunities for young people to discuss ideas as a group with scaffolds that support communication, such as sentence starters, discussion stems, key vocabulary lists or success criteria for speaking and listening.�For example: using prompts like “I’d like to challenge that because…” or “Building on that idea…”

Collaborative problem‑solving activities�Tasks that require young people to talk together to solve a challenge, complete a project or produce an outcome.�For example: designing an experiment, building a model, analysing data sets, or planning an argument for a class debate.

Encouraging peer interactions: Create meaningful reasons for young people to talk: sharing viewpoints, negotiating roles in a group task, evaluating each other’s work, or preparing a joint presentation.�These activities build confidence and allow practice in real, purposeful contexts.

Role play, simulation and performance: Drama‑based or subject‑specific role play can help young people explore different communication styles and practise formal and informal language.�For example:

A mock trial in English or citizenship

A scientific conference presentation

A historical role play (e.g., debating a key decision)

A business pitch or marketing role‑play in design or enterprise lessons

These activities give young people the chance to take on roles, adapt their communication and experiment with different types of talk.

A note on timetable planning�Research from Sarah‑Jayne Blakemore (2018) suggests that adolescents generally function best between around 10am and 2pm, with earlier mornings and late afternoons tending to be lower‑energy times.�Where possible, placing the most cognitively demanding or language‑heavy activities in the middle part of the day can support better engagement and communication.

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Create a communication-supportive environment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yPR1UUtjec

Video

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Communication-supportive environment

Discuss:

Which of these strategies are you using already?

What could you adapt/add to your practice?

How could you incorporate visuals into your teaching more?

Activity

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Written words
Pictures
Diagrams
Demonstrations
Hands-on activities
Symbols
Natural gesture
Videos

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3. Put additional targeted, targeted plus or specialist support in place for those who need it

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What does good targeted support look like?

We have evidence-based group (or individual) programmes for speech, language and communication skills.
We use additional strategies in the classroom for young people who need them.
We measures young people’s progress by collecting outcomes.

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Examples of targeted support

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Adapt your language
Pre-teach vocabulary
Group programmes

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1. Adapt your language

Match your language to the young person’s level.
Attract attention first – say their name.
Break tasks into manageable steps.
Explain abstract terms.
Use short and simple sentences.
Use direct language.
Pause often – give extra thinking time.
Repeat key points and summarise at the end.
Use visuals to support understanding.

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We often don’t realise how long or complex our sentences can be, or how much vocabulary we expect young people to understand. Here are some key ways to adapt your language in secondary classrooms:

Match your language to the young person’s level: Use clear, concise language where needed. Break down complex concepts by explaining one step at a time, especially in fast‑paced lessons.

Attract attention first: Agree a clear signal for whole‑class attention (e.g., countdown, hand up, call‑and‑response).�Use young people’s names before giving an instruction so they know it’s for them.

Break tasks into manageable stages. Give instructions in the order you want them completed.

Explain abstract terms. Avoid unnecessary abstract language (e.g., “before”, “after”, “simultaneously”, “whilst”) unless you’ve explained it. When you introduce a new term, pause and highlight it, give a quick explanation, and check understanding.�For example: “When I say evaluate, I mean judge something based on evidence — does everyone know what that means in this context?”

Be direct: Avoid sarcasm, implied meanings, hints, idioms or metaphors when giving instructions or important information — these can be easily misinterpreted.�If you do use indirect language, explain it clearly.�For example: “When I say ‘keep an eye on the time’, I mean make sure you check the clock so you finish on time.”

Pause often and give extra thinking and processing time: Slow down slightly, build in pauses, and give young people time to organise their thoughts before responding. This can make a huge difference for young people with speech and language challenges.

Repeat key points and summarise: Revisit the most important messages or steps. End instructions or explanations with a brief summary — this helps consolidate understanding.

Use visuals to support understanding: Visuals can include diagrams, key word lists, models, timelines, flow charts, steps on the board, or worked examples.�For some young people, more consistent visual support is needed. Visuals stay visible long after spoken language has disappeared, giving young people an extra anchor to help them understand and keep up.

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Adapt your language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNf-VHzClPE

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2: Explicitly teach vocabulary

Examples of vocabulary used across all subjects:

Analyse
Interpret
Justify
Explain
Summarise
Compare
Predict
Estimate
Evaluate

Pre-teach topic vocabulary AND vocabulary that crosses all subjects.
Review it often.
Visual prompts and supports.
Talk about meaning and link to other words they know.
Teach how it sounds – what sound it begins with, number of syllables, words it sounds like.
Teach prefixes (mis-, re-, dis-) and suffixes (-ing, -ship, -ment).
Teach comprehension strategies.

General principles for teaching vocabulary to benefit all young people

Vocab is part of every subject – even Maths, PE, music, art.
Explicitly teach topic vocabulary – at beginning of a new topic. And review it often – reuse and highlight words frequently.
It’s important to teach topic vocabulary as well as words that cross all subjects – such as words that are used in learning objectives. (examples on slide)
Visual prompts and supports – pictures, diagrams etc. Only have vocabulary on the wall if you are going to refer to it and encourage young people to refer to it too.
Talk about meaning AND sounds

Meaning – link to other words they know
Sounds – explicitly talk about what sound it begins with, syllables, rhyming words.

You can make new words easier to understand and less daunting if you teach prefixes and suffixes – so young people can break words down and make them more familiar.
You can also teach young people to use these strategies themselves – like breaking the word down, or using context to work out the meanings of unfamiliar words.

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Word maps

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nmhWvm1gvP3qBxSowhe4dDqplBQI4VNQ/view

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3. Group programmes

Before putting in place an intervention for:

literacy
numeracy
behaviour
social skills

Think:

Could it be language?

Try a speech and language programme

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What Works database

https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/what-works-database/

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Talk Boost Year 7

Talk for Work

Programmes designed and tested in mainstream schools

Address underlying challenges with talking and understanding words

Small group intervention sessions delivered by a Teaching Assistant

Strong evidence base

Two good examples of speech and language programmes are Speech and Language UK’s Talk Boost Year 7, and Talk for Work: Talk for Work - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives
These programmes were designed and tested in mainstream schools with the aim of making them impactful and easy to deliver.
They support young people by addressing underlying challenges in speech and language development.
They have a strong evidence base.
Generally the young people who benefit most from group programmes are those with short-term speech and language challenges. Young people with lifelong challenges like DLD need longer-term support and adaptive teaching.
However, often we don’t know whether a young person’s challenges are likely to be short-term or lifelong. Trying a speech and language programme can help us with this. If a young person makes progress with the group programme, this is great news and we might not need additional support from speech and language therapy.
If they don’t make progress, they might have lifelong challenges. It’s worth seeking the opinion of a speech and language therapist with these young people.

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Targeted strategies

Thinking about the targeted strategies we have just talked about:

Which of these do you feel you use already?
Which could you introduce into your practice?

Split attendees into groups based on year group/key stage and discuss the following questions as a group (with 5 mins for each group to feed back a couple of key points from their discussion/what they are going to take forward at the end):

Which of the targeted strategies that we have just talked about do you feel you use already?
Which could you introduce into your practice?

Remember what we said earlier about the difference between universal good, high quality teaching and targeted strategies are. The differences are in the amount of personalisation in the use of targeted approaches. The strategies we have discussed should be matched closely to the needs of the individual young person as highlighted by the identification tool you have used. So for example if a young person has problems with organisation, teach some specific strategies to support with this, and make sure to measure the effectiveness of those strategies by collecting outcomes.

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What does good support at the targeted plus level look like?

Young people can access more personalised support, which could include:

advice from a speech and language therapist
support delivered in an Inclusion Base
a programme delivered by a speech and language assistant and overseen by a speech and language therapist.

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Examples of targeted plus support

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A young person is introduced to a visual system to help them understand how to build sentences.
A speech and language assistant supports a young person with using language to negotiate.
A specialist teacher in an Inclusion Base does focused modelling of particular vocabulary or grammar.

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Specialist support

Speech and language therapy input may include:

Assessment and diagnosis
Develop and advise on strategies and therapy programmes
Support with integrating strategies into classroom
Coach families, teachers, teaching assistants in use of strategies
Raise awareness and understanding of DLD
May offer more support at different times e.g. transition

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When to refer to speech and language therapy?

The young person’s speech is unintelligible
The young person has a stammer (is dysfluent)
Feeding or swallowing difficulties

Young person’s speech and language difficulties impact on access to curriculum

Family concerns

Young person is not making progress with support at universal, targeted, targeted plus levels

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Referral

Include information about the young person’s:

talking
writing
social interaction and friendships
behaviour
understanding (following instructions and explanations, answering questions)
story-telling (narrative) skills
vocabulary.

These are the things that are useful to include in a referral. So keep note of your observations according to these areas.

Talking – do they express themselves at the level of their peers? Write down some examples of their sentences.
Writing – include examples
Social interactions and friendships – how do they interact with peers? Join in group games and activities? Play at break and lunchtime?
Behaviour – could their behaviour be a sign of an underlying challenges with talking or understanding words?
Understanding –Do they need instructions broken down? Do they follow explanations? Are they looking at their peers to know what to do? Are they able to answer questions?
Can they tell or retell a story? Are you able to follow stories they tell you easily?
Can they learn and remember new words?

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Support at times of transition

Practical tips:

model and practise using informal/formal language
role play life skills
discuss potential scenarios e.g. managing workload
help them to self-advocate
explicitly teach interview skills
give them practise using a lesson timetable
be alert for signs that the young person may need support

Between year groups
Between primary and secondary school
Between secondary and further / higher education or the workforce

Periods of transition can be challenging for all young people but particularly for those with DLD.
Young people with DLD may be less able to engage in discussion about transition, to express how they are feeling, and to work through potential problems.
Transition between primary and secondary education is a big change and young people with DLD will need lots of support with this – they will have to cope with increased academic and language demands of the curriculum, as well as the social pressure of meeting new peers and forming friendships.
Then the transition between secondary and further or higher education or the workforce – suddenly, young people need to have skills such as being able to use different styles of language with colleagues as opposed to peers, knowing how to communicate independently at the GP or the dentist, and being able to organise their time independently.
Even the transition between year groups, while not as significant, is still difficult for some young people and needs to be prepared for.
Some practical tips are on this slide – if the young person is moving on to higher or further education or the workforce, we can role play situations where they will need to use formal or informal language.
We can also role play life skills, like visiting the GP, or making an appointment with the dentist, or ordering in a café.
As always, it’s important to be teaching skills in organisation and independence.
Many children joining you from primary school will need help learning to use a lesson timetable. It’s very important that they can see a hardcopy of their timetable and that it is not only accessible on electronic devices.
As young people transition to adulthood it’s hugely important that they are able to advocate for themselves – to talk about what’s hard for them and what helps them. So practising this with them is important – talk about what helps them and also what doesn’t help.
Remember that these young people are hugely vulnerable to mental health difficulties. Be on the lookout for signs that they may need support emotionally when going through a time of transition.
Young people might need specialist support at times of transition, even if they have been discharged before. We can re-refer to speech and language therapy services if we think this is the case.

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Include:

Strengths / what people like or admire about the young person
Interests / things they enjoy
Areas of need
Strategies that support them
Relevant professionals / interventions

https://www.communicationpassports.org.uk/Creating-Passports/templates/full-passports/

Pupil passports /communication profiles

Having a pupil passport or profile for all young people with SEND is good practice as it ensures useful information about the young person is shared with all relevant professionals.
As a general guide, a pupil passport/profile should include information about the young person’s:

Interests/things they enjoy doing
Areas of need/where they need support
How they communicate
Strategies/teaching approaches that support them (e.g. using visuals, simple language, etc)
Environmental adaptations that support them
Additional interventions they access
Any relevant professionals/agencies involved in the child’s care

Young people should be involved in writing their own pupil passport/profile. This develops important skills in self-awareness and self-advocacy. Different formats for a passport/profile can be explored with the young person, such as a PowerPoint presentation, or even a video recording of them talking about their strengths, needs and things that support them.
This website could be used to download and customise templates of passports – or we can create our own from scratch https://www.communicationpassports.org.uk/Creating-Passports/templates/full-passports/

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What next?

Think about what we have covered today.

What is the first thing you are going to change/add to your practice?

When and how will you review how it has gone?

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Take the quiz!

DLD affects approximately what % of children in UK primary schools?

~1%
~5.4%
~7.6%

DLD is:

less prevalent than autism
more prevalent than autism
just as prevalent as autism.

Approximately what percentage of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have significant, often unidentified language difficulties?

~32%
~55%
~81%

Which of these are possible indicators of DLD?

Challenges with understanding words and sentences
Challenges with talking
Challenges with literacy, reading comprehension and academic success
Challenges with joining in with peers and understanding the rules of games
All of the above

Who can diagnose DLD?

A teacher
A SENCo
A doctor
An educational psychologist
A speech and language therapist

Activity

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Take the quiz!

DLD affects approximately what % of children in UK primary schools?

~1%
~5.4%
~7.6%

DLD is:

Less prevalent than autism
More prevalent than autism
The same as autism in terms of prevalence

Approximately what percentage of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have significant, often unidentified language difficulties?

~32%
~55%
~81%

Which of these are possible indicators of DLD?

Challenges with understanding words and sentences
Challenges with talking
Challenges with literacy, reading comprehension and academic success
Challenges with joining in with peers and understanding the rules of games
All of the above

Who can diagnose DLD?

A teacher
A SENCo
A doctor
An educational psychologist
A speech and language therapist (SaLT)

Activity

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Continue your learning

Speech and Language UK Learning Centre: https://learningcentre.speechandlanguage.org.uk/

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Other DLD resources

https://learningcentre.speechandlanguage.org.uk/dld-educational-support

DLD guide

DLD training slides

DLD webcast series: for primary teachers, secondary teachers, SENCos, senior leaders

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Other organisations and resources

https://www.naplic.org.uk/resource/dld-bubble-toolkit/

https://radld.org/dld-awareness-day/

https://afasic.org.uk/developmental-language-disorder-dld/

https://padlet.com/cforwood/supporting-students-with-developmental-language-disorder-dld-fvrrl0e5mjm8heiw

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DLD awareness day: October each year

https://speechandlanguage.org.uk/educators-and-professionals/speak-up-for-dld/

Video to watch with colleagues

Slides to deliver staff training

Presentation for young people to tell others about DLD

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Appendix

Please choose from the following slides based on the actions you want to take forward in your setting

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Free
Online
Can do in your own time
Takes two – three hours in total
Covers topics like typical development, speech and language challenges and practical support strategies.

Introduction to speech, language and communication

https://learningcentre.speechandlanguage.org.uk/course/an-introduction-to-speech-language-and-communication

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Communication standards audit: Secondary

Free resource
Develop a whole-school approach to communication
Make an action plan of changes to make your setting more communication-supportive

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Speech, Language and Communication Framework (SLCF)

Free online professional development tool
Self-assessment tool
Provides a personalised analysis for users
Plan CPD opportunities tailored to needs
New updated version from September 2026!

https://www.slcframework.org.uk/the-speech-language-and-communication-framework-slcf/

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Thank you

Speechandlanguage.org.uk

Follow us @SpeechAndLangUK