I don't talk much about my kids on here (they're teenagers, they prefer it that way)
But it's Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day, so the rules are different today #DLDYouAndMe
But it's Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day, so the rules are different today #DLDYouAndMe
What's Developmental Language Disorder? Find out here:
@RADLDcam
This article, by @WordAware - tes.com/news/how-help-…
& this one, from @JulesDaulby - julesdaulby.com/2019/10/17/dld…
@RADLDcam
This article, by @WordAware - tes.com/news/how-help-…
& this one, from @JulesDaulby - julesdaulby.com/2019/10/17/dld…
My boys are deaf, so they don't have straight-up DLD - they have a language disorder associated with deafness.
The language disorder has been easily more disabling & isolating than their deafness, in large part because it impacts signing as well as spoken language #DLDYouAndMe
The language disorder has been easily more disabling & isolating than their deafness, in large part because it impacts signing as well as spoken language #DLDYouAndMe
We had to fight like crack-addled Tasmanian devils for the right support: there are still professionals out there who don't believe language disorders exist.
Once we got the boys the right support, they made awesome progress #DLDYouAndMe
Once we got the boys the right support, they made awesome progress #DLDYouAndMe
Here's a thread from 2 years ago, showing what difference clued-up teachers of the deaf and speech & language therapists can make when they're allowed to work as a team #DLDYouAndMe
More of the same, from a year ago #DLDYouAndMe -
What's happening now?
T got the A-Level grades he needed for his 1st-choice uni - he started a few weeks ago, a long way from home.
He's managing the course's language load fine, & is looking after himself better than I did when I was a student #DLDYouAndMe
T got the A-Level grades he needed for his 1st-choice uni - he started a few weeks ago, a long way from home.
He's managing the course's language load fine, & is looking after himself better than I did when I was a student #DLDYouAndMe
T needs support to access his course: amplification systems, lecture capture, & an occasional notetaker.
Luckily, the uni & the DSA system grasped his additional language needs, & met them well.
Light-years' difference from the school system #DLDYouAndMe
Luckily, the uni & the DSA system grasped his additional language needs, & met them well.
Light-years' difference from the school system #DLDYouAndMe
J is still at his special school, doing Gibb-approved GCSEs, making good progress with hefty SALT support.
His LA tried to remove the SALT provision when they transferred his statement to an EHCP - we resisted, got it reinstated, b/c it's vital to his success #DLDYouAndMe
His LA tried to remove the SALT provision when they transferred his statement to an EHCP - we resisted, got it reinstated, b/c it's vital to his success #DLDYouAndMe
None of this is easy, even when the system works. There's no magic key to unlock the language disorder barriers - it takes a lot of sustained effort & commitment on the boys' part.
But with the right expertise, it works - & it changes lives #DLDYouAndMe
But with the right expertise, it works - & it changes lives #DLDYouAndMe
If you're a professional reading this on #DLDAwarenessDay : academic, teacher, SALT, TA, whatever - I want to say thanks.
My kids would have sunk without people like you. And if they'd sunk - which seemed likely once - I too would have slipped beneath the waves #DLDYouAndMe
My kids would have sunk without people like you. And if they'd sunk - which seemed likely once - I too would have slipped beneath the waves #DLDYouAndMe
It's appallingly, unacceptably, often unlawfully difficult for children with DLD to get the support that they have a right to.
We've got to keep at it. Because things are possible that I never would have dreamed possible ten years ago /end #DLDYouAndMe
We've got to keep at it. Because things are possible that I never would have dreamed possible ten years ago /end #DLDYouAndMe
