Community event to raise language disorder awareness

The Derby Conference Centre is set to host a free community event, which aims to raise awareness of Developmental Language Disorder.

Taking place on Friday 16 October, which is DLD Awareness Day, the event will bring families, professionals and local people together – with the centre itself illuminated purple to mark the occasion.

DLD affects approximately 7.58% of children and is nearly seven times more common than autism, yet it remains widely misunderstood and frequently undiagnosed.

It affects the way a person understands and uses language. For a child, this can make it difficult to follow instructions, learn and remember new words, explain what has happened, organise their thoughts, understand questions or communicate how they are feeling.

The community event, which takes place from 6pm, has been organised by  Sunshine Support, which has been raising awareness of DLD for many years.

It is inviting families, teachers, professionals and members of the local community to come together for a relaxed evening at its hub on the Derby Conference Centre estate.

Chrissa Wadlow, from Sunshine Support, whose 12-year-old daughter has DLD, said: “DLD is not rare. In an average classroom of 30 children, around two will have it, yet many people still have no idea what it is. I believe that all of us, parents, teachers and professionals alike, have a duty to notice those children and become curious about what may be happening beneath the surface.”

For more information and to register click here.