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SCALES is a longitudinal population study of language development in 590 children, followed from age 5-13yrs. This study is now complete and you can read about our findings in our final report. We have made the data from this study available on the UK data archive for other researchers to use and also continue to conduct our own analysis on this amazingly rich dataset. The study was funded by The Wellcome Trust and the ESRC.

We are investigating how to adapt talking-therapy for treating anxiety and depression for young people who have language and communication difficulties. Young people with language disorder are at increased risk of developing anxiety and depression, and as many as two thirds of young people entering mental health services have language disorder. First line treatments for anxiety and depression rely heavily on spoken language, making them inaccessible for young people with language disorder, yet there is currently no research looking at how to adapt therapy delivery for this vulnerable group. This project will offer insights into the language barriers that prevent young people with language disorder from engaging with talking-therapies, and provide practical, evidence-based guidance to overcome these barriers. We are building a team includes young people with language disorder, speech and language therapists and clinical psychologists to ensure that the research is guided by lived experience and that our findings can be translated directly into practice. This work has the potential to benefit other groups of young people who face barriers accessing talking- therapy, such as young people receiving therapy in their second language. This project is funded by a Prudence Trust research fellowship to Dr Sarah Griffiths.

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This project asks why some neurodivergent children develop no or minimal spoken language during childhood. Primary school aged children with autism, intellectual disability and/or other genetic conditions will be followed over a period of three years, to investigate differences in their language and communication trajectories in a longitudinal observational study. The project is deliberately inclusive and transdiagnostic, targetting any 4 to 12 year olds who are unable to use spoken language in a flexible, frequent and communicative way. We are particularly interested in how sensory-motor skills relate to expressive language development, and how prevalent speech-motor planning difficulties are in this population. It will harness parent-gathered data using technology (e.g. smartphones, wearable devices), to maximise participation and obtain a realistic picture of everyday language use. This will help us understand why some neurodivergent people have difficulty acquiring oral communication skills, and how best to support them. This project is supported by a Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship awarded to Dr Jo Saul in November 2022 and its aims and methods have been guided by a steering group comprising parents and professionals with lived experience of caring for minimally verbal or non-speaking children.

We are currently working with young people, their families, and professionals to develop interventions that enhance the language skills that are important for social and emotional development, and support significant others to adapt their language to increase participation for young people with language disorder. We will test these interventions to discover whether improving language and communication attenuates mental health concerns in young people.