"...words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth." - V, 2005
The power of communication is essential; some say a necessity. We all do it, humans, insects, birds, cats, dogs, etc. No matter which species we belong to, we all communicate. Unfortunately, some people struggle to do so. Damian was one of them.
Developmental Language Disorder, a speech and language disability, which Damian has had from birth, causes sentences to come out muddled and slow, even though all Damian's ideas are there. Here Damian talks about how DLD has affected his life, and how the charity Afasic has been there to support him throughout.
Find the struggles that Damian had to go through in his life for him to speak.
Finding a Voice recounts the journey Damian has taken. From the early years, he was struggling to be diagnosed and have the disability recognized, to being heard as Vice President of Afasic
Genre: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal MemoirsCurrently, my book (paperback) is in the following position on Amazon:
225 in Speech Reference
402 in Living with Disabilities Biographies
614 in Biographies about Essays, Journals & Letters
And as in Kindle format, it's currently:
17 in Speech & Pronunciation eBooks
102 in Speech Reference
183 in Living with Disabilities Biographies
Its first publishing received two 5-star ratings, and in its current outing, it has also received a 5-star rating from Amazon reviewers.
When you are trying to identify DLD, you need to consider other things that might have caused language disorder – i.e., make a differential diagnosis. In the 2013 version of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, they describe the following conditions that are distinct from DLD but might look like it:
• Normal variations in Language. It is essential to realise that some children talk differently from others just because of regional, social, or cultural/ethnic differences of language (e.g. dialects). For instance, in some dialects, it is reasonable to say, “Give me them apples” or “He don’t want to do it”. This is not language disorder: it’s just how people in that community speak.
• Hearing or other sensory impairment. You would not diagnose DLD if the language disorder can be explained in terms of hearing loss. This is not always easy to judge. I am deaf in one ear, but this is not sufficient to explain my language problems, so the diagnosis of DLD still applies.
• Intellectual disability. Intellectual disability is diagnosed when there are problems that go beyond language to affect other aspects of life so that the child is not able to do everyday things independently. A child may have language disorder with intellectual disability: often this is caused by a known condition, such as Down syndrome. This would be treated as different from DLD, where the language problems aren’t part of a broader problem
• Neurological disorders. Language disorder can occur in association with neurological disorders, including epilepsy.
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Matteo Serrago
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Ramon Santana
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