“All my mental health struggles go completely hand-in-hand with my severe DLD and being misunderstood and feeling invisible. I find everything so hard as I cannot speak up,” Siouxsie says, speaking to us over Zoom alongside her mum Rachel, after we sent her some of our question areas in advance.
“To do things in life you have to continuously listen, understand and process what is being said. For someone like me this is just completely exhausting.
“I get really anxious in restaurants, in cafes, shops, in any group situation, even at the hairdressers, so I don’t go.”
She says she has found a creative outlet in the form of dance, and wants to study dance, mime and physical theatre, but is struggling to find a course she can access.
Siouxsie has been receiving support from Speech and Language UK with her communication and says she is still working with a speech and language therapist.
The BBC have approached Siouxsie’s mainstream primary and secondary schools for a response to her claim that she was not well-supported as a child.
Responding to the report, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme is providing support with speech and language development for tens of thousands of children in reception year, and we are going further, faster by working with NHS England to embed specialist support for children struggling with communication in early years and primary school settings – preventing issues from escalating.
“We’re also taking action to cut NHS waiting lists, reform the Send system to prioritise early intervention and expand our mental health support teams to an additional 900,000 pupils by April 2026 so every child can achieve and thrive.”