Elise de Bree appointed professor of Developmental Language Disorder in Inclusive Education
Elise de Bree has been appointed endowed professor of Language Developmental Disorders in Inclusive Education effective 1 February 2021. The chair is funded by Koninklijke Auris Groep, a national expertise and treatment centre for children and young people with hearing, speech and language disorders. De Bree: ‘I will be using my appointment to help ensure that language problems are recognised at school and that children with language development disorders receive the help and support they need.'
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, or TOS in Dutch) is a relatively unknown primary language disorder, despite being very common. De Bree: ‘DLD has an estimated prevalence of 5 to 7 percent. The disorder is far less widely known than ADHD and dyslexia, despite its major impact. For example, DLD affects children's ability to acquire reading skills and their development at school. Hopefully, greater awareness of DLD will ensure that children's language problems are detected at an earlier stage..
Effective interventions
De Bree also aims to examine how children with Developmental Language Disorder in inclusive education can be supported most effectively. ‘We know that inclusive education presents a huge challenge to mainstream schools and that current efforts aren't always well received by teachers, pupils and parents. Hopefully, further research into Developmental Language Disorder in the context of inclusive education can help us develop suitable interventions and provide effective support and tools for teachers.’
The Dynamics of Youth research theme effectively bundles our existing expertise on development
Exciting research
Naturally, De Bree - who previously studied and obtained her PhD at Utrecht University and spent the last few years working at the UvA - is familiar with our research projects and the researchers in her field: ‘I know there's currently a lot of important and exciting research going on in terms of DLD, language development problems in general, and in the field of inclusive education. The Dynamics of Youth research theme effectively bundles our existing expertise on development: I'll be carefully examining the opportunities for alignment and cooperation within the programme.’