On behalf of NAPLIC, I’d like to wish all our members and colleagues a joyful holiday period and a peaceful New Year. Thank you for your continued commitment to raising awareness and supporting children and young people with Developmental Language Disorder.
We’re excited to announce that our annual conference will take place on Saturday 9th May 2026 at The Studio, Birmingham. The theme is: ‘Developmental Language Disorder: Research, Practice and Lived Experience‘.
Expect a full line-up of inspiring speakers and thought-provoking sessions – details coming soon! Bookings are now open, so save the date and join us for what promises to be an engaging and impactful event.
A Message from the NAPLIC Chair – Victoria Wadsworth
Dear colleagues and friends,
I’m delighted to share that the videos from the NAPLIC 2025 Conference – “Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Research, Practice and Lived Experience” – are now available to purchase.
Held on Saturday 29th March, this year’s conference was a powerful reminder of the value of coming together to share knowledge, lived experiences, and new perspectives. From heartfelt personal stories to thought-provoking research and practical strategies, the day was rich with insight and inspiration.
(more…)‘The three days of the year I most look forward to are my birthday, Christmas and the NAPLIC conference,’ was a comment made by one conference delegate. I think there are quite a few people who feel like that.
Whilst for several years we have had people with lived experience of DLD speak at conferences, this year we also saw lived experience being more prominent in both practitioner and research presentations.
Abraz Hussain and Tanaya Brady got the day started telling their experiences as young adults with DLD. They both spoke movingly about their journeys and how diagnosis and support has really made a difference, and with their own advocacy allowed them to succeed. And in a first for NAPLIC we had a song!
Dr Hannah Harvey and a lived experience panel of families presented about family experiences of diagnosis of DLD. The striking differences in how the DLD diagnosis was shared by professionals varied from exemplary to gobsmackingly brief. It certainly was illuminating. The panel of families were heavily involved at every step. We look forward to seeing the next steps!
Amanda Finer talked about listening to children and young people with DLD. She guided us through a number of techniques she uses, as well as challenging the audience to reflect on how well we listen. Young people with DLD didn’t think many of us did so well! We professionals need to work on our listening.
Professor Jenny Gibson addressed two topics. First of all the idea of viewing DLD through a neurodiversity lens, which fitted rather well with Amanda and Hannah’s presentations. The second part of her presentation outlined some interesting qualitative research into friendships of children with DLD. Children with DLD did not see their communication needs as a barrier, but tended to have more immature concepts of friendship and would benefit from support.
Our final presentation was from Amy Gaunt form Voice 21 addressing oracy and DLD. Oracy is (hopefully) coming to the fore in the educational world, and this is a wonderful opportunity to link up the approach with DLD and oracy. Oracy has so much to offer children with DLD. SLCN professionals need to get on board!
If you missed the conference or were there and just want to relive it, keep an eye out for the recording which will be on sale shortly.
Written by: Stephen Parsons – NAPLIC Committee
As Chair of NAPLIC, I am excited to remind you about our upcoming annual conference! This year’s event will feature a diverse lineup of expert speakers, interactive workshops, and the latest research in the field of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
We warmly invite professionals, educators, researchers, students, and parents/carers of those living with DLD to join us for a day of learning, networking, and collaboration.
Make sure to secure your spot by registering today.
We look forward to seeing you there and working together to advance our understanding and support of DLD.
Victoria Wadsworth, Chair, NAPLIC
Once again, the NAPLIC conference showed the power of getting people in a room together and sharing views, stories and information.
We started the day hearing the lived experience of Ioan Berry, a young man with DLD. Ioan highlighted how curriculum related visits whilst at school helped his learning. Together with strong creative interests outside of school this helped build him into the confident young man he is today. I expect we will be hearing more from Ioan in the future!
Ioan’s Mum Imogen Berry counted up the professionals who have supported her son from Early Years to post-university and it came to the astonishing figure of 42. And even though most professionals were supportive Imogen reported that the only time she could truly relax was when Ioan was at a specialist Language Provision for 3 years as she knew his needs were being met and he was being well supported.
And in a first for NAPLIC, we heard from a sibling of a person with DLD. And Jotham Berry is one great big brother. He has been a protective and guiding presence for Ioan, and interpreted for, advocated for and protected him. This support has extended right through from childhood to dissertation level. Jotham’s research was about the work experiences of people with DLD, so his dedication is profound.
Following the Berry family was the trailblazing Speech and Language Therapist, Rachel Sievers. Rachel has been working with adults with DLD for many years now. Rachel outlined the lack of services and awareness but importantly the impact that diagnosis can have on adults with DLD, including on mental health, social inclusion and self advocacy. And whilst progress has been made, the issues that Rachel outlined in 2005 are still the same issues in 2024. We need to do much more for adults with DLD.
Simone Ojei is a Speech and Language Therapist and lecturer at UCL. Simone outlined the impact of language on social, emotional mental health with a particular focus on those in the youth justice system. In three case studies Simone addressed the complexity, barriers and missing information that are common in this context. Simone advocated for a partnership approach as the most effective method of working.
Henrietta McLachlan and Heather Price from Elklan presented their research into Information Carrying Words (ICW) that came from the Derbyshire Language Scheme. This technique is widely used, but under-researched, and so much needed. The intervention was delivered via trained TAs and proved to have a significant impact. Heather and Henrietta also presented the Higher Level Communication Practitioner which is new scheme being developed, and will have multiple providers.
Vanessa Llyod-Esenkaya addressed the topic of friendships for children with DLD. Whilst professionals may focus on the classroom, children are most interested in friendships, but this is often the area that is neglected. Vanessa advocated for foscussing on ‘activity’ and ‘participation’ as opposed to ‘impairment. She also made a strong case for working with children and young people when conducting research.
Our final presenter was Professor Helen Stringer, talking about the 10 year ‘Northumbria Healthcare and Newcastle University Universal, Targeted and Specialist (NNUTS) Framework.’ A key component of the approach was working with schools to ensure that support for SLCN becomes embedded across the schools. This allows for much more efficient working long term as staff have higher levels of skills and schools can offer far greater support. We look forward to hearing more when papers are published and resources become available.
Across the day lived experiences, practitioner and academic perspectives all added to an advancement in understanding. Conference delegates were left feeling inspired!
Thank you all who contributed and attended.
Videos of the event will be made available for all attendees shortly. Recordings will also be available via naplic.org.uk/conferences.
We will be back live in Birmingham with all things Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
The conference will be called “Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): the latest research and practice” and will take place on 27th April at The Studio in Birmingham.
Confirmed speakers include:
I am writing this over a month after our 2023 conference, partly because my head is still spinning. So many ideas and connections. The conference gave professionals, families and people with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) the opportunity to learn from one another. It was a real highlight, and one that left delegates feeling extra-energised.
The day started with our DLD activists Shelbi Annison, Sophie Franks and Damian Quinn who shared their lived experiences, and in doing so, moved many (OK, most if not all) of the audience to tears. Hearing about the hurdles they have all needed to overcome and continue to overcome and then the actions they take to raise awareness is humbling.
Dr Val Brooks was the next speaker and she addressed language and trauma, bringing a total wealth of knowledge to this important and timely topic. The centrality of the early childhood experience to all of life was a key take home message. Every word of Val’s presentation carried such wisdom that it is one that I’ll need to watch again on the recording.
Genetics and DLD is an area that is very new to many of us, and potentially a bit daunting, but in her talk Dr Dianne Newbury was able to convey complex information incredibly clearly. A key message, and one we need to get to a wider audience, is that DLD has a genetic basis, but it is not down to any one gene, and more likely to be a number of genes.
SENCO Katie Little packed a mass into her presentation, giving a fantastic overview of how she has developed a whole school approach for Developmental Language Disorder. Katie has taken a methodical step by step approach to setting up systems in one school and then moving to another school to start again. Katie is an inspiration.
Our final speaker was Dr Lisa Archibald who provided a real overview of working memory and how it relates to DLD. Lisa stressed that general memory training was unlikely to be effective, but teaching strategies and developing language skills were the best way to improve working memory skills. A clear take home message.
Thank you to all who attended. We hope to see you next year. Keep an eye on the website and social media or join NAPLIC to find out more about next year’s conference.
Stephen Parsons
Chair, NAPLIC
We are delighted to announce that booking has now opened for the 2023 NAPLIC Conference “Developmental Language Disorder from every angle” which will take place in Birmingham in April.
This year, along with our popular annual conference, we also have an additional Symposium.
The conference will take place on Saturday 22 April with the Symposium on the Friday 21 April.
In a first for NAPLIC we held our very first hybrid conference, streaming live from the imposing Sheffield City Hall to delegates across the globe.
The speakers were a mixture of parents, professionals and academics, all reflecting on Developmental Language Disorder from their perspective.
Opening the day we had parent, Claire Hoyle reflecting on her daughter’s journey with DLD. From an academic angle, Saloni Krishnan presented ground-breaking work on DLD and the brain, Michelle St Clair spoke of social and emotional mental health and Nikki Botting about long term outcomes.
From a practitioner perspective Carolyn Gelenter, Ysanne Yeatman and Charlotte Hammant described their joint working and Rosalind Merrick about developing teamwork. With a foot in each camp (research and practitioner), long time NAPLIC member Rose Brooks summarised her PhD on teaching vocabulary. It was a stimulating day that went by so quickly.
Luckily for delegates the recordings will be available on the website soon.
Thank you to Charlotte Forwood for her incredible visual summaries. This one is of Rose Brooks’
vocabulary teaching presentation.
Join us on May 21st in Sheffield for a fantastic day of learning about Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We continue the NAPLIC tradition of bringing you the very best in research and practice. This day is guaranteed to leave you inspired. Tickets are priced from £75 for in person attendance and £35 for livestream access.
The theme is ‘DLD: thinking of the future.’ 5 years on from the changes in terminology and criteria we are experiencing a big increase in awareness of DLD as well as an increase in the amount of research. At the conference we will bring together these two strands with insights into innovative practice.
Conference delegates will hear from:
We have kept the prices very low, as we want to encourage as many people as possible to join us. The Sheffield City Hall is a spacious venue, so there will be lots of room for everyone to be covid safe. The live stream option makes the conference accessible to those who cannot travel. In person and live stream delegates will both have access to the recording after the conference.
Book your tickets today! Bring a friend too and enjoy the day out! See you at #NAPLIC22
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NAPLIC’s 2026 conference: DLD: Research, Practice and Lived Experience took place on Saturday 9th May at the Studio, Birmingham
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