Camouflaging in Developmental Language Disorder: The views of speech and language therapists and parents

Background: Camouflaging has been the subject of research in conditions which affect communication skills and social functioning such as autism, and has been shown to have negative impacts on mental health outcomes. However, camouflaging has received no systematic study in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Aims: This study aimed to explore the topic of camouflaging in DLD, drawing on the experience and expertise of both speech and language therapists and parents of children with DLD. We aimed to capture the nature and appearance of camouflaging in this population, and its potential impact on the children. Methods & procedures: Using a qualitative descriptive design, we interviewed 6 speech and language therapists and 6 parents of children with DLD. We applied inductive thematic analysis to the interview transcripts. Outcomes & Results: We organised our findings into three broad areas: who camouflages and why, the many strategies for camouflaging, and the impacts of camouflaging. It was clear that camouflaging could take a range of forms, although there we identified 8 common presentations. Participants felt that camouflaging delayed recognition of children’s language needs, and had implications for interventions and support. There were also negative impacts on children’s levels of exhaustion, mental health and self-esteem, their personality and friendships, and how staff and those around them perceived children and young people with DLD. Conclusions & Implications: Our study provides a first look at the topic of camouflaging in DLD. Wesuggest how camouflaging could be taken into account when working with children and young people with DLD, especially when involving other colleagues such as teachers or assistants, who may not see the language needs underneath the camouflaging. Further research that characterises camouflaging DLD could lead to the development of tools that help mitigate against the under-detection of children’s language needs.