Around one in every 14 children lives with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a condition that affects a child’s ability to understand and use language despite typical intelligence and hearing. Children with DLD are more vulnerable to academic difficulties, social isolation and mental health challenges later in life.
While research consistently highlights play as one of the most effective environments for language development, it remains surprisingly underused in formal intervention settings.
Challenging this gap is an innovative new project that reimagines language intervention for children with DLD. Moving away from traditional speech and language therapy approaches that often rely on repetition and structured drills, the project places play at the centre of learning through an engaging, immersive board game.
Developed through a collaboration between the University of Malta and Flying Squirrel Games, Olly’s Adventures combines the excitement of a board game with language activities rooted in evidence-based therapy principles. Children step into colourful characters, explore familiar environments such as playgrounds and markets, and complete language challenges designed to strengthen vocabulary, comprehension and expressive skills. By turning therapy into a series of playful quests, language learning becomes something children want to engage with—rather than something they are required to do.
Titled Olly’s Adventures: The City of Two Languages, the game reflects the lived reality of bilingual communities like Malta, where children grow up navigating both Maltese and English. Its dual-language design supports not only clinical intervention but also the everyday linguistic experiences of young learners.
By weaving language learning into play, Olly’s Adventures points to a new direction in child intervention—one where structure meets creativity, and where the simple joy of play becomes a powerful driver of communication and connection.
