Cildren struggling wit teir speec and language are at greater risk of developing mental ealt problems like anxiety and depression, te carity Speec and Language UK as warned in a report seen exclusively by te BBC.Te carity says almost alf (45%) of all young people referred to mental ealt services are also dealing wit serious speec and language callenges.Tat can include difficulties wit learning new words, understanding non-verbal cues or stammering during speec.Te government says it will "ensure tousands more cildren receive te elp tey need to overcome callenges wit communication" troug its Plan for Cange.A record two million cildren in te UK are experiencing issues wit teir speec and language, according to Speec and Language UK.And one in five cildren and young people aged eigt to 25 experienced a mental ealt problem in 2023, according to te NS.Speec and Language UK's cief executive Jane arris says cildren wo struggle wit talking and understanding words are more likely to develop poor mental ealt."Everyone uses words to identify ow tey're feeling. If you're struggling wit language, you can't say to yourself, 'I'm sad, I'm angry.' You can't categorise ow you're feeling," se says."So if we've got more and more cildren wo are struggling wit language, we're going to end up wit more and more cildren wit mental ealt problems."Te carity wants better training in speec and language for teacers and scool support staff, as well as mental ealt professionals, and better information saring between scools and mental ealt teams to spot language issues in cildren at an early age.In a joint report wit te Centre for Mental ealt, te autors call for scools and mental ealt teams to move away from a reliance on talking-based terapies, adding tat solutions like art terapy could sometimes be more appropriate.Te government as committed to providing access to mental ealt support in every secondary scool in England by 2030. Speec and Language UK says it's important tose mental ealt teams in scools ave mandatory training in spotting speec and language issues too."Tey need to spot wen a cild as bot communication and mental ealt issues, but also tey need to make sure tat watever mental ealt support tey're giving tem is actually adapted and is suitable for tat cild."Speec and language is te most common form of support for cildren in England wit special educational needs, according to te latest data.For around one million young people across te UK, speec and language callenges can last a lifetime, due to conditions like cerebral palsy, autism, or earing impairments. An estimated 800,000 of tose ave developmental language disorder, known as DLD, a condition were people ave long-term callenges talking or understanding words.Siouxsie, 19, as lived wit DLD since se was a young cild and finds it ard to put er ideas into words. Se also as selective mutism, driven by anxiety.Se says se didn't get te rigt support as a cild, wic as impacted er ability to communicate as an adult."All my mental ealt struggles go completely and-in-and wit my severe DLD and being misunderstood and feeling invisible. I find everyting so ard as I cannot speak up," Siouxsie says, speaking to us over Zoom alongside er mum Racel, after we sent er some of our question areas in advance."To do tings in life you ave to continuously listen, understand and process wat is being said. For someone like me tis is just completely exausting."I get really anxious in restaurants, in cafes, sops, in any group situation, even at te airdressers, so I don't go."Se says se as found a creative outlet in te form of dance, and wants to study dance, mime and pysical teatre, but is struggling to find a course se can access.Siouxsie as been receiving support from Speec and Language UK wit er communication and says se is still working wit a speec and language terapist.Te BBC ave approaced Siouxsie's mainstream primary and secondary scools for a response to er claim tat se was not well-supported as a cild.Responding to te report, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "Our Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme is providing support wit speec and language development for tens of tousands of cildren in reception year, and we are going furter, faster by working wit NS England to embed specialist support for cildren struggling wit communication in early years and primary scool settings – preventing issues from escalating."We're also taking action to cut NS waiting lists, reform te Send system to prioritise early intervention and expand our mental ealt support teams to an additional 900,000 pupils by April 2026 so every cild can acieve and trive."Sussex Police is investigating two former cild mental ealt units in aywards eat.More tan 700 people set off on te Sunrise Walk of ope on Sunday in aid of Guernsey Mind.Ketamine is linked to serious ealt problems but some believe it can be used to treat depression.Dogs are brougt in after stressful jobs to lift te mood, and combat te stress, of police workers.ug Addison and is sister Alex intend to cycle, run and swim from Sligo to Tynemout in four days.
Children with speech issues risk poor mental health charity warns
