Welcome to PLUTO
A Parent-led, online course for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD*) or Autism Spectrum Condition.
In 2024, at the University of Bath, we developed a new wellbeing course for parents of children with DLD.
Now, in 2026, at the University of Oxford, we are currently adapting it for autistic children.
Please scroll down to find out more.
*(DLD has also previously been referred to as 'Specific Language Impairment').
About PLUTO
The course includes 6 separate modules, delivered at your convenience over 6-12 weeks.
Modules include information and exercises on the below topics:
1. What is DLD/Autism?
2. Helping your child understand their emotions
3. Helping your child manage their worries
4. Managing your own worries and reconnecting to your values
5. Building your child's confidence
6. Focusing on your child's social skills and looking to the future
We are looking for families to take part in research to understand how helpful this course is, and how we can improve it in the future.
You can find out how to take part below.
Interested in joining?
The first PLUTO course ran January-April 2023 for children with DLD.
Due to its success, we are running a new course for autistic children in September 2026.
If you would like to find out more, or register your interest in taking part, please contact the lead researcher, Annabel, at annabel.burnley@hmc.ox.ac.uk !
The research advert and information sheet from the previous study are below. Both provide you with an indication of what the study scheduled for September 2026 might look like.
We will update this soon as soon as we can with information about the upcoming study.
~ please click here for the RESEARCH ADVERT ~
~ please click here for the INFORMATION SHEET ~
