Aruba’s Foundation for People with Hearing and Speaking Problems will hold a two-day conference on developmental language disorder on October 5 and 6.
The event, titled “An Invisible Barrier,” is intended to increase awareness of a condition that can affect communication, education, social relationships and daily life, according to a report published by 24ora.
Conference brings education and health professionals together
The October 5 session will take place at the University of Aruba and is aimed specifically at educators. FEPOH said some spaces remained available when the event was announced.
A second session on October 6 at the Renaissance Convention Center will bring together professionals from the medical, paramedical, social and education sectors. The available places for that day had already been filled.
FEPOH manager Kristel Vis-van Nes said the foundation’s mobile team has specialized in developmental language disorder since 2016. The organization works with Kentalis in the Netherlands to follow scientific developments and strengthen local expertise.
Disorder can create a largely unseen barrier
People with the disorder can have typical intelligence while experiencing difficulty learning to speak, understanding their first language, developing vocabulary or expressing themselves. Those challenges can continue across school, work and social settings.
The report cited a worldwide estimate that developmental language disorder affects between 5% and 7% of children and described it as a lifelong condition. FEPOH chose the conference title to emphasize that the effects may be significant even when the condition is not visible to others.
The foundation said greater knowledge and awareness can help people with the disorder receive appropriate support. It thanked Aruba’s health and education ministries and other supporters for helping organize the conference.
