About
Dara is a three year research project based at City St George's, University of London, with RADLD, Say Aphasia and the Stroke Association as partners. It is funded by the EPSRC.​
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Dara is investigating and creating inclusive data visualizations to support personal decision-making for people with acquired and developmental language disorders.
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Our Approach
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We are running in-depth studies to investigate how people use and experience data visualization for everyday decision-making.
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We want to know what works well, what barriers people face, and what workarounds they adopt.
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We are using this knowledge in co-creation to design and test new, inclusive approaches to visualization.
Our Motivation
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Accessibility research in data visualization has previously considered the needs of people with visual impairments and learning disabilities, but has not explored the needs of people with language disabilities.
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We want to lead the way in expanding ideas of accessibility in data visualization to include adults with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and aphasia.
Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a condition where people have problems understanding and/or using language but where there is no known physical cause [1].
It is estimated that 7.6% of primary school children in the UK are affected by DLD [7]. The challenges of DLD are lifelong, persisting into adulthood [2] and affect a wide range of outcomes [5].
While communication is the primary impairment, people with DLD also experience issues with memory, processing speed and executive functioning [4] [6].
Developmental Language Disorder
(DLD)
Aphasia
Acquired aphasia is a language impairment caused by a stroke or brain injury. It alters people's use of language and can affect speaking, understanding, reading, and writing, with a substantial impact on all aspects of life [3].
Aphasia varies in severity, and the experience of disability is mediated by the extent to which society accommodates the language impairment.
More than 350,000 people in the UK and more than 1 million in the USA have aphasia. These numbers are increasing as people live longer and stroke mortality rates reduce. Alongside aphasia, 90% of stroke survivors report at least one cognitive effect, with 75-80% reporting that their decision-making, concentration, multi-tasking and problem-solving is impacted [8]
Resources from other sites.
Video from Engage with DLD
References
[1] Bishop DV et al (2016) CATALISE: A multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study. Identifying language impairments in children. PLOS one, 11(7), e0158753.
[2] Botting N (2020) Language, literacy and cognitive skills of young adults with developmental language disorder (DLD). Int. J. of Language & Communication Disorders, 55(2), 255-265.
[3] Cruice M et al (2003) Finding a focus for quality of life with aphasia: Social and emotional health, and psychological well-being. Aphasiology, 17(4), 333-353.
[4] Del Tufo SN & Earle FS (2020) Skill profiles of college students with a history of developmental language disorder and developmental dyslexia. J. of Learning Disabilities, 53(3), 228-240.
[5] Dubois P et al 2020) Young adults with developmental language disorder: A systematic review of education, employment, and independent living outcomes. J. of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(11).
[6] Earle FS & Ullman MT (2021) Deficits of learning in procedural memory and consolidation in declarative memory in adults with developmenta
[7] Norbury CF et al (2016) The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder: Evidence from a population study. J. of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(11), 1247-1257. l language disorder. J. of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(2), 531-541.
[8] The Stroke Association (2019) Lived Experience of Stroke Report, [Accessed 25/07/2022].