Trilingual child with speech delay

What a total shame! The benefits of bilingualism/multilingualism go far beyond the actual languages spoken.

From what I remember of my psychology degree and teacher training, delayed speech in multi-lingual kids is very common. There's just a lot of language going on, and they need to work out which language belongs with which.

There used to be a family on TikTok whose DD (aged between about 3 and 6 when I was watching) who was tri-lingual. If I remember correctly, mum was English, Dad was French but they lived in Spain and she went to Spanish nursery/pre-school. Her speech was slow to come, and she'd jumble up sentences, but she got there in the end. :)

It really should be one parent one language. You should stick to that.

DD speaks completely native/fluent English with me. Fluent, perfect Spanish with her father, another language fluently at school. Read to her also in your respective languages.

Slightly delayed speech, until 2 she didnt say a word.

Then she said everything! In about 6 months.

Have a read of the below document from the University of Reading’s specialist centre of multilingualism. I think it’s advised to keep speaking all languages. Maybe find a speech and language therapist with expertise in multilingualism who can assess your child?

sites.reading.ac.uk/slt-clinic/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2022/04/BM@Reading_FamilyLeaflet.pdf

Unless you are very fluent in English then you and your partner should continue to speak your native languages at home. Multilingual children often have a delay in their language development, but this is a significant delay which would warrant further investigation.
Is she still being seen by the Speech and Language Therapist?

I can't see how stopping a language will help. It seems like that will just make learning her family languages harder for her.

I would keep on with all three languages and make sure that she is hearing examples of conversations. So where two or more people take turns to talk and listen to each other.

You could roleplay this with dolls/teddies and check that screen time includes examples of conversations. I noticed some children's programs are narrated so don't actually demonstrate conversations.

What do nursery say and what are they doing to support her?

I had one like that. Everyone told me it's the three language which slowed everything down (even though there is plenty of research which does not support that). To cut a long story short, child has complex needs and learning difficulties and that was the reason for the delay. The trilingual upbringing was just a red herring. We switched to English only at some point which helped (but is obviously no cure for the learning difficulties/complex needs) but it made things easier esp at school.

My cousin is bilingual and was slow to speak. He’s fine now. It might be worth consulting a specialist in speech just to reassure yourself or address any potential issues early doors.

Has an experienced teacher in an English school told you that?

my bestfriends kids were like this - they stopped the languages and just carried on in english.

A delay in speech development is normal for bilingual kids but this sounds more severe than normal. I would lay off one language for a whole and maybe promote just one to see if she can speak in sentences. The problem with leaving it till 7 or 8 is that if there is a problem, any intervention will be far less effective than it could be at this age.

Mum to bilingual kid. We were helped by speech and language therapy. Our toolbox focused on slowing down conversation. Simplifying language (they may understand complex sentences but are unable to say them fluently) - and give the child an opportunity to practice simple storytelling - with flashcards, memory games. So they practice saying very simple
' baby' sentences.
Also rule out eye/ hearing stuff - our kid was myopic and was spending a lot of energy simply trying to focus - resulting in overall fatigue.
Good luck!

I think carry on as you are. She'll get it soon enough. Greek will probably end up being a language she never talks in, but understands. As long as she can communicate enough with her peers to play with, and you at home to make her needs known, that's good enough.

I know bi and multi lingual children they were all speaking in sentences by 4. Single words sounds like some thing is going on.

Has she had a hearing test?

Sorry, should have added that I'm an immigrant and don't know any mono-lingual families. My anecdotal experience backs up the research I've read, that a speech delay is rarely related to the number of languages a child has.

It's a common myth that bi/multi-lingual children are routinely speech-delayed, and it's how a lot of them fall through the cracks of early intervention.

I'd be looking for further intervention... At the very least a different speech therapist.

This is fairly normal. Any children I know who are bilingual tended to have a bit of a reduced vocabulary in both languages until around 7 or 8 when it seems to sort itself out.

She's not trilingual though as she's struggling to speak. Perhaps speak to her in the language of the country she resides in and will use at school only for now.