Unlocking Voices

Australian teachers are required to implement reasonable adjustments to
ensure access to the curriculum for all students with disability, including those with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Students with DLD and their teachers are faced with significant challenges to achieving successful participation, access, and academic progress in the school context as language is the currency for learning and socialising. DLD is a common and persistent disorder, yet complex and hidden. Knowledge of DLD is an essential link in the knowledge chain necessary for teachers to implement appropriate adjustments. This project aims to understand what Australian teachers know about students with DLD using survey methodology. This research finds a mismatch between participants' self-rated and actual knowledge of DLD (n=262). Most participants also had difficulty interpreting students' presenting characteristics and selecting appropriate adjustments in classroom-based scenario tasks. Teacher years of experience, training exposure, and speech pathology support were positively associated with self-rated knowledge, but not identification accuracy.