A North Yorkshire mum is using her personal experience to help parents whose children are diagnosed with a language disorder.

Jessica Brudenell sought other avenues after being faced with a lengthy NHS waiting list when her son, Henry, was diagnosed with developmental language disorder (DLD).

Following private care, Henry has shown great improvements over the past year and is now not far behind his peers in terms of language development.

Recognising the lack of support for her son, Jessica wanted to improve provisions for DLD.

Jessica, who is joint secretary of the Friends of Crakehall School, has been able to obtain financial backing from the Broadacres community development fund.

The Northern Echo: Jessica Brudnell and her son Harry.

This funding has allowed Jessica to coordinate training for children, parents and teachers at Crakehall and a cluster of other nearby village primary schools.

The Broadacres grant, alongside other funds raised, will mean a local speech and language therapist will deliver training to parents, help raise awareness and provide support and reassurance.

Those in Years 5 and 6 will also receive training on how they can support younger children with DLD to ensure they do not feel isolated.

Jessica’s efforts have highlighted the already severe lack of support around speech and language-based needs.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists found in February 2023 there were 18,869 adults on the waiting list for speech and language therapy with 3,346 waiting up to a year.

Post-lockdown consequences are continuing to be felt, particularly for children who are struggling with the gap in support.

The charity Speech and Language UK’s Listening to Unheard Children report used YouGov survey statistics to estimate 1.9 million children are behind with their talking and/or understanding of words.

Increased mental health risks, trouble with social interactions and academic difficulty are just some of the challenges faced by those with DLD.

Jessica said: “Specialist support at an early age is vital but it can be very expensive and I’m aware not all families can afford it”.

She added: “The NHS waiting list is very long and it’s vital that the condition is recognised and supported at an early stage, so I thought we’d try to put something in place within local primary schools.”

The Broadacres Community Development Fund that Jessica used for the initiative supports local organisations, groups and projects in areas where Broadacres has homes.

Grants are approved by a panel consisting of Broadacres’ residents and funding can be applied for here.