Rewards and challenges of parenting a child with Developmental Language Disorder

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