SOME of Bute’s best-known landmarks were illuminated in purple and yellow as the island came together to raise awareness of a little-known condition affecting children’s communication and understanding of language.
Rothesay Castle, Mount Stuart House, the Glenburn Hotel and Apple Tree Nursery all took part in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Awareness Day on Friday, October 16, following an appeal from local mum Mandy McLachlan.
The campaign was particularly close to Mandy’s heart after her daughter was diagnosed with the condition last year, aged seven.
Before receiving the diagnosis, Mandy and her family had never heard of DLD, and they soon discovered that awareness of the condition was extremely limited on the island.
Her daughter was among the first children on Bute to receive a diagnosis, and the family found that many of the people they spoke to had little or no knowledge of the disorder.
Developmental Language Disorder is a lifelong condition that affects a person’s ability to understand and use spoken language. It can make following instructions, expressing thoughts, learning new vocabulary and communicating with others more challenging.
Because the condition has no obvious physical signs, it is often described as a hidden disability, and a lack of awareness can make it more difficult for those affected to receive appropriate support.
Determined to help change that, Mandy decided to mark the international awareness day by asking businesses and landmarks across Bute to illuminate their buildings in the campaign’s purple and yellow colours.
And the response from the local community was overwhelmingly positive.
Rothesay Castle, Mount Stuart House, the Glenburn Hotel and Apple Tree Nursery all agreed to support the initiative, helping to shine a light on a condition that many islanders may never have heard of.
Mandy explained that raising awareness was particularly important to her family because of the difficulties they had encountered following her daughter’s diagnosis.
She said that before the diagnosis, DLD was completely unfamiliar to them, and that the lack of understanding among others could make accessing the right support challenging.
With landmarks around the world lighting up to mark DLD Awareness Day, Mandy was delighted that Bute was able to play its part.
She praised the island’s willingness to get behind the campaign and said it had been lovely to see local businesses and landmarks showing their support.
The mum also wanted to publicly thank everyone who helped make the illuminations possible, hoping the colourful displays would encourage more conversations about the condition and the challenges faced by those living with it.
For Mandy and her family, the message behind the campaign is a simple but important one: not all disabilities are visible, and greater awareness and understanding can make a real difference.
Thanks to the support of the island community, Bute’s landmarks helped ensure that Developmental Language Disorder received some much-needed attention.
