Two local authors have published their first children’s book as part of an upcoming series aimed at raising awareness about developmental language disorder.
The book, Dan & The Paper Airplane: Living Life With Developmental Language Disorder, was written by co-authors Jinean Cheng and Camesha Russell. Together, their mission has been to effectively connect and educate teachers, parents and therapists supporting children with DLD, a task they both hope to achieve with the help of their first picture book.
“Developmental language disorder is a lifelong condition which affects 1 in 14 people but almost everyone in Canada that I have ever met had never heard of it,” said Cheng, a speech-language pathologist and Newmarket resident.
DLD is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts a child’s ability to understand language and often impacts various aspects of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. According to Speech-Language and Audiology Canada, there are approximately 2.6 million people in Canada with DLD.
Russel, a former Newmarket resident who now works as an elementary school teacher in Oshawa, also spoke to DLD’s lack of awareness and the limited knowledge people often have about the disorder.
“We often tend to be familiar with disorders such as autism or dyslexia and parents may even feel like they know there is something different with their child but can't name it. Both of us are passionate about giving those parents the tools and vocabulary to begin seeing their child, represented in a way that is not from a place of lacking, but from a place of confidence,” she said.
The book follows the story of Dan, a child with developmental language disorder, who has a passion for making paper airplanes. After struggling with conflicts stemming from his challenges with communication, Dan begins to better understand his disorder and celebrate his strengths with the help of a speech therapist and his parents
Cheng noted that she and Russel intentionally used simple vocabulary and sentence structure while writing the book to make it more accessible to children with DLD. With the first book already making an impact, the authors revealed that they have 10 more in the works, with the second already close to being published.
“We think the book is something children and their peers can relate to. We have got a lot of feedback from parents saying, ‘Wow, Dan is just like my child’ or ‘I have never seen DLD represented in media like this before,’" said Cheng.
Cheng and Russel have also produced a guidebook to accompany the novel, a powerful tool that includes prompts and questions that parents of children with DLD can use at home to continue the conversation around better understanding the disorder.
The book took roughly eight months to complete, with both authors wanting to ensure that accurate representations of DLD and its effects on children and their families were incorporated.
“Knowledge is power and so we feel so strongly that if this message can be communicated properly, if it was as known as autism dyslexia, that it could revolutionize communities, families and even change the trajectory of children's lives,” said Russel.
“It is incredible to think that we can play a part in that,” Cheng added.
Dan & The Paper Airplane: Living Life With Developmental Language Disorder, as well as the accompanying guidebook, are now available for purchase online on Amazon.