Rewards and challenges of parenting a child with Developmental Language Disorder
- Michelle St Clair
- May 8
- 2 min read
Updated: May 15
Leitão, S., St Clair, M.C., Botting, N., Gibson, J., & Jackson, E. (2025) “They don’t realise how hard he has to try every day”: The rewards and challenges of parenting a child with developmental language disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 60, e70003. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.70003
Aim of the paper:
· We asked parents – what is most rewarding and most challenging about being a parent to a child with DLD?
· We wanted to understand parent views and experiences as there is little research that has looked at this.
· This may help speech therapists and teachers to support families of children with DLD.
What was found:
Rewards: Parents told us -
· they were proud of their children and celebrated their progress, especially as their children often had to work so much harder;
· their children were brave and determined;
· their children were creative;
· that the right school environment was supportive;
· and, that their own learning about DLD helped to support their child.
Challenges: Parents told us –
· Communication difficulties can be frustrating;
· Diagnosis can take a long time, and be a tricky journey;
· Professionals – including teachers, are often not aware of DLD, and sometimes do not understand DLD;
· Schools can be a challenge, especially if the system doesn’t recognise DLD;
· DLD has an impact on the whole family;
· DLD can have an impact on the social and mental well-being of the child and the family;
· Supporting their child, being an advocate and finding resources can be ongoing and often exhausting.
What does this mean?
· This research is important for understanding the views of parents of children with DLD.
· There are many rewards when parenting children with DLD.
· There are also many challenges. There is an impact on the whole family and parents worry about the future.
· The findings could be useful for speech-language therapists who can work with families.
· The research could also be useful for teachers and schools, to better support children with DLD and their families
· We all need to advocate for more awareness of DLD and the impact of living with DLD on children and families.
Where can I read this paper?
You can read the whole paper for free by following this link:https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.70003