Researchers raise awareness for developmental language disorder

DOVER, Del. – Friday is Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day, and researches in Delaware spent the day advocating for the cause.

The day is all about raising awareness for a disorder that researchers say goes undiagnosed and untreated far too often.

Officials 47 ABC spoke with say about two out of every 25-30 students will have the disorder.

When undiagnosed, it can make children less likely to graduate high school and even more likely to be incarcerated.

But, researchers tell us that avoiding any negative effects of the disorder all starts with early diagnosis.

“Early diagnosis and treatment is key here, and kids can have great success, they don’t even necessarily need to be in a special education classroom they can have really good success with their typically-developing peers if they get the extra support that they need,” Dr. Kristina Strother-Garcia, with the TELL Lab at the University of Delaware, said.

Any parent interested in learning more about how to get their child tested can reach out to their school district. The University of Delaware is also researching language in children, and anyone interested in getting their child involved can visit the TELL Lab’s website.