Children with speech issues risk poor mental health, charity says

Children struggling with their speech and language are at greater risk of developing mental health problems like anxiety and depression, the charity Speech and Language UK has warned in a report seen exclusively by the BBC.

The charity says almost half (45%) of all young people referred to mental health services are also dealing with serious speech and language challenges.

That can include difficulties with learning new words, understanding non-verbal cues or stammering during speech.

The government says it will “ensure thousands more children receive the help they need to overcome challenges with communication” through its Plan for Change.

A record two million children in the UK are experiencing issues with their speech and language, according to Speech and Language UK.

And one in five children and young people aged eight to 25 experienced a mental health problem in 2023, according to the NHS.

Speech and Language UK’s chief executive Jane Harris says children who struggle with talking and understanding words are more likely to develop poor mental health.

“Everyone uses words to identify how they’re feeling. If you’re struggling with language, you can’t say to yourself, ‘I’m sad, I’m angry.’ You can’t categorise how you’re feeling,” she says.

“So if we’ve got more and more children who are struggling with language, we’re going to end up with more and more children with mental health problems.”

The charity wants better training in speech and language for teachers and school support staff, as well as mental health professionals, and better information sharing between schools and mental health teams to spot language issues in children at an early age.

In a joint report with the Centre for Mental Health, the authors call for schools and mental health teams to move away from a reliance on talking-based therapies, adding that solutions like art therapy could sometimes be more appropriate.

The government has committed to providing access to mental health support in every secondary school in England by 2030. Speech and Language UK says it’s important those mental health teams in schools have mandatory training in spotting speech and language issues too.

“They need to spot when a child has both communication and mental health issues, but also they need to make sure that whatever mental health support they’re giving them is actually adapted and is suitable for that child.”

Speech and language is the most common form of support for children in England with special educational needs, according to the latest data.

For around one million young people across the UK, speech and language challenges can last a lifetime, due to conditions like cerebral palsy, autism, or hearing impairments. An estimated 800,000 of those have developmental language disorder, known as DLD, a condition where people have long-term challenges talking or understanding words.

Siouxsie, 19, has lived with DLD since she was a young child and finds it hard to put her ideas into words. She also has selective mutism, driven by anxiety.

She says she didn’t get the right support as a child, which has impacted her ability to communicate as an adult.

“All my mental health struggles go completely hand-in-hand with my severe DLD and being misunderstood and feeling invisible. I find everything so hard as I cannot speak up,” Siouxsie says, speaking to us over Zoom alongside her mum Rachel, after we sent her some of our question areas in advance.

“To do things in life you have to continuously listen, understand and process what is being said. For someone like me this is just completely exhausting.

“I get really anxious in restaurants, in cafes, shops, in any group situation, even at the hairdressers, so I don’t go.”

She says she has found a creative outlet in the form of dance, and wants to study dance, mime and physical theatre, but is struggling to find a course she can access.

Siouxsie has been receiving support from Speech and Language UK with her communication and says she is still working with a speech and language therapist.

The BBC have approached Siouxsie’s mainstream primary and secondary schools for a response to her claim that she was not well-supported as a child.

Responding to the report, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme is providing support with speech and language development for tens of thousands of children in reception year, and we are going further, faster by working with NHS England to embed specialist support for children struggling with communication in early years and primary school settings – preventing issues from escalating.

“We’re also taking action to cut NHS waiting lists, reform the Send system to prioritise early intervention and expand our mental health support teams to an additional 900,000 pupils by April 2026 so every child can achieve and thrive.”