To think bilingualism must impact speech development?

[ahna68]

We are a 2-language family, living out of the UK (not my native language). DD1 experienced a regression in the months after our move and is now on the pathway for an autism diagnosis. She is attending DN daycare and receiving speech therapy etc - currently all in the language of the country we live in.

I know that even for autistic children, keeping up both languages is encouraged and apparently not expected to add to delays. I can't help but think by focusing on one language only, DD is more likely to progress to communicating via language than if we try with 2 (she's currently non verbal apart from echoalia etc). My language is good enough to learn along with her, although much worse than my native English.

Does anyone have any lived experiences / helpful views to share?

I am sorry to hear of the challenges of your DD and wish you all the best as you overcome the non verbal etc.

However the assertion made in the thread title, based on one experience you have had where there are other parallel factors perhaps not related to environment or language or residence……. Yeah

I feel YABU a bit but like I said, every hope with the ongoing challenge of your DD

We are in exactly the same position with our son. He is nearly 3 and still isn't forming full sentences. We are in the UK but are a bilingual household. He is currently under autism assessment and we are waiting on speech therapy. I think the two languages have definitely made it harder

Speak to her in your fluent language, otherwise (and especially if you are with her more than dad) you will water down your language to only the things you know she she will not get a spontaneous, rich, (and accurate) language model. You will reduce the amount of language you use and while that is valid when communicating with autistic children, during singing, stories or just general commenting during play or chat you won't expand her vocabulary. Using visuals to support language will be helpful.

Well as the parent of a severely autistic non 12 year old ,I would focus on one language tbh ,she's very young and may well develop speech ,but i think two languages in view of the circumstances will just make things infinitely harder .

Pm me if you have any questions. Multi-lingual (4) family + asd.
But yes, OPOL is considered the best method and some delay is expected; the more languages you add the larger the "acceptable" delay.

@SavoirFlair thanks for the good wishes. Yes, to be clear I am not suggesting the bilingual environment / move has caused her language difficulties (/autism), I’m more questioning going forward if 2 languages isn’t going to inevitably make becoming verbal harder for her.

interesting to hear @bluemoon13 and sorry that you are going through it also. Are you continuing to try with both languages?

thanks @TomatoBrain , not sure if you or your DC are ASD from the comment but either way interesting to hear re keeping up the languages. I know that it is indeed the advice but I can’t help but be nervous that I’m doing so I’m making it less likely that she will become verbal even in a single language. especially given that exposure to English is very much minority right now given her childcare arrangements - not even close to 50/50.

My 4th child was diagnosed asd at 3. We are a multi language household and I have in to focusing on one language to speed her up. I really regret it. She spoke at 4.5, and went on to speak well. It didn’t speed anything up but she lost something I see as special. She doesn’t speak the family language with any fluency even now, which is sad.

Yeah, it will definitely be harder. It's twice the amount of information.

But I would certainly continue -as it's so valuable. OP - you should just stick to your native language. Don't switch.

What's the other language?

What Helena said is true. It's short term gain (child will speak one language earlier) but long term loss - they will never properly aquire the second language.

Children in bilingual households do tend to speak later, but often develop very quickly once they are confident with speaking. They take time to separate out the two languages but once they've done that, it's no hinderance and has actually been shown to have some advantages for all round development.

Our friends children are bilingual.

She did say that they expected her childs speech to come on slightly slower than average (as the child is obviously navigating 2 languages) but she wasn't concerned, just par for the course she said.

And both her childrens english has been slightly longer to master, but it has been worth it as they now speak great in both languages.

OP, non of her children have any autism or ASD, so im not sure how relevant it is, but wanted to share another story from a bilingual set up.
I hope everything works out well for you.

@ahna68 Yes, DC. Listen to the advice! And don't forget you are her mum (dad?). You are her constant. And her security blanket. Imagine what she would feel or how confused she would be of you suddenly started speaking another language to her. It's would be a huge change for her to process.

And it's not as easy as you would think. All the nursery rhymes, songs you automatically sing to them - you won't have this from a learnt language. DC refused even to acknowledge me if I spoke in the "wrong"language!

My niece is 2 in November. French mother, English father. She speaks only in French with mum, and only in English with dad. She's far more advanced in both languages than my son was at her age, so maybe it just depends on the child.

I’m in an international environment where every child I know is bilingual, any many have 3 or 4 languages. In my own experience (own DC and observation of others) any language delay is entirely separate from the number of languages. Some children may mix up vocabulary and syntax from the different languages for a while but i thought the idea that multiple languages contribute to a delay in verbal expression per se is no longer mainstream? (I’m not an expert however, and no experience with ASD.)

Thanks everyone for the comments and insights. The numbers don’t lie and it seems that IABU indeed. But aside from the voting, comments show that some of you relate to / understand my worries too, even if not logical or scientific.

i am definitely in most areas a ‘trust the science’ person but I just have a worry of being e.g. 10 years down the line with DD still non verbal and worrying things might have been different with only 1 language. But you have all given me perspective on that and I feel a renewed ‘enthusiasm’ to really try and expose her to English too.

also working on PECs as others have suggested but so far these don’t seem to click with her. Keeping trying though.

good luck to those of you going through a similar experience.

I disagree with the title.
We live abroad. My kids first language is English, but they speak also french and Chinese. Never had any issues. A lot of kids at their school are trilingual

I'm pretty sure I've read studies that showed that babies in multi lingual families do start speaking later, but not to the extent where it's considered delayed and there's a need for intervention. I also saw a speech therapist for DD when she was about 2 years old and she told me the same.

I'm not sure how it would present in children with autism though. Do you think you can consult with a speech therapist? I find them very reassuring.

My children are bilingual English/Welsh - I only speak English to them and their dad only speaks Welsh - there was no delay in language acquisition, but none have any SEND, so not sure how that would impact.

I know a number of families with children who are autistic because DS is autistic. In 2 families both parents are Polish, 1 mother speaks Spanish, 1 child attends school where Irish is spoken all children bilingual. The second language is not a issue in any of these cases. Language difficulties are worse in my single language child because language is an issue as part of his autism.

OPOL or MLAH are the best ways to go - you just have to keep plugging at it with bilingual children. There are stages they all go through, more or less (whichever method you use) and there are plenty of good resources available for NT and non-NT children

Children who speak more than one language from early childhood appear to be delayed but they are doing twice the processing of other one language children. Overall this will ensure their brains are wired for learning difficult concepts in the future which is a benefit. My friend's bilingual children now speak colloquially 5 languages as they find it easier to absorb.

My DC had difficultly with speech and we slowed everything down and gave them time to respond and process. Children develop at different rates throughout childhood.