https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=KrOISXtCgVA
Grant Oracheski is a young adult who was diagnosed with developmental language
disorder in March of 2018. As a child, he remembers struggling with speech, but no one around
him paid too much attention to this difference. He remembers having that “tip-of-the-tongue”
moment more often than other children. Many of the people around him thought he would grow
out of the language disorder as he grew, but this did not happen. Another reason he was never
diagnosed as a child was where he grew up. The small town he grew up in did not have many
resources for children with language disorders. Once Grant was in high school, the language
disorder became very apparent. His teachers noticed that he often had a great number of
grammar mistakes in his essays. Teachers would comment on how great the essay’s materials
and structures were, but the grammar mistakes were obvious. Sadly, the struggles did not stop
after high school. While Grant was studying at the University of Alberta, his DLD caused more
issues. One professor accused him of academic dishonesty because his essay had very little
markings. The professor believed that Grant had a Chinese student write his paper. This mistake
is not uncommon because people with DLDs often make similar mistakes as people just learning
the language.
Outside of school, Grant also had issues. He mentioned that the issues he had were so
minute that people usually do not even think about them. One example he gave was that on
professional documents he needs someone to read them over. Grant made a resume, but he forgot
to put the “I” on the end of his last name, so no one could contact him. In social situations Grant
rehearses what he is going to say so he does not babble unintelligibly. For example, before he
orders at a coffee shop, he will rehearse his order in his head and speak word for word what he
practiced. Another example is when making friends, Grant will use a script to ask questions and
get to know the other person. Finally, Grant said that he is hoping to bring awareness to the
world of developmental language disorders so when he tells people around him that he has DLD,
he does not have to explain what that means. The DLD community is very small, but with more
awareness, more people can understand what DLD means, and educators will know more about
how to teach students with DLDs.
A few types of resources and assistive technology that might help Grant be successful in
school and life are proofreading software, apps to help teach and communicate with students, and
electronic fluency devices. Proofreading software goes above the normal proofreading features
found in computers and tablets to help a student become a more effective and accurate writer. A
few examples are “Ginger” and “Ghotit.” The number of apps that are available to help students
with DLDs are endless. A few examples are “Speak – Practice Your English” and “Speech
Journal.” Electronic fluency devices work by playing the user’s speech back into their own ears
with it slightly altered. These devices help improve people’s fluency. The amount of assistive
technology available is tremendous, and the options vary in how the technology is used and what
the technology helps with. These examples may help Grant in his journey to living a normal life.