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Negativity towards bilingualism with SN

9 replies

alexbaublistigers · 04/12/2013 20:29

I have posted before about my 4 year old ds2. He has developmental delays, and very limited speech. He only says about 5 or six words himself.

We are a bilingual family - my other two children are fluent in both languages, and I speak to all the children only in English, while their father speaks to them only in Greek.

The words that ds2 uses himself are the same ones in either language, with the exception of "apple", which he only says in English, but which he clearly recognises and responds to in Greek.

In fact, in general, he responds to roughly the same vocabulary in either language, and he shows that he understands both languages - albeit in a limited way, and generally simple instructions

Despite this, I have been told my every professional that we have dealt with so far that I have to stop speaking to him in English, that I am making his life difficult and causing him trouble for no good reason.

Today we had an appointment with the speech therapist. She told me that I was making his SN worse by using two languages, and that he would never really learn to speak as long as I continued, and that I was deliberately confusing him and harming his chances at development.

I already have a bit of a reputation as an obstinate mum, as I have disagreed with a lot of things that the professionals have said, right from the start. (And time has shown that I was right to disagree, but that's another story!) It feels like a constant battle sometimes.

But to be told that I am deliberately harming his development, and to have her ask why I don't want to help my son is not easy to deal with.

Is there anyone else with stories of bilingualism and SN? Positive stories? I need some reassurance!

OP posts:
SaidTheSloth · 04/12/2013 20:47

There's no evidence to support bilingualism being a disadvantage if you have any kind of SN, even significant language delay. Sadly, the outdated view that you've been told is still prevalent.

The current advice (that your SALT especially should have been aware of) is to keep the 2 languages separate, which you are already doing.

You are quite right to stick your heels in with this. Your son will definitely not be harmed. Be reassured!

babiki · 04/12/2013 20:51

Oh I've recently deleted study off my computer regarding this... Trust your insticts, on the contrary the effect is positive.

I've been told the same and panicked and switched to English but now I'm back to my language..

moondog · 04/12/2013 20:54

I am a bilingual (trilingual s/lt) with 20 years of experience with children with SN as well as the mother of bilingual children and can tell you categorically that your s/lt is talking utter tripe as are the others who are discouraging you.
Shame on them!
This flies in the face of all the available evidence and horrifies me.
Are you in the UK?
Unbelievable!
Inbox me if you want a more detailed conversation. I will be happy to assist.

alexbaublistigers · 04/12/2013 20:58

No, I am in Greece.

Can anyone point me towards studies on bilingualism in SN children? The speech therapist claimed that studies have proven her right, that all the evidence shows bilingualism to be a problem

OP posts:
alexbaublistigers · 04/12/2013 21:08

I know another family with a son with SN (they used to go to the same occupational therapy centre as us) where the mum is Armenian, the dad is Russian and they live here in Greece. Their children were being brought up trilingual. They followed the advice and now just use Greek with their dc, I think it's a real shame.

OP posts:
chocnomore · 04/12/2013 21:10

Dd has severe autism and a severe speech and language delay/disorder. she was not able to handle more than one language. SALT never adviced us to drop a language but we decided to do this when she was 3.5 as there was literally zero progress. within 3 months of switching to English only she started to link words.

her speech and language is still very delayed/disordered but switching to one language has helped massivly. I do believe that her s&l difficulties combined with her autism were just too much for her to cope with more than one language.

we decided to keep English (as we live in the UK) even though this was initially much weaker than her L1.

I still think we made the right choice (Dd is now 5.5) but I do at times really feel upset about it. it waa not an easy decision and I still wonder if I should re-introduce the other language.

chocnomore · 04/12/2013 21:12

.... meant re-introduce at some point in the future

alexbaublistigers · 04/12/2013 21:27

Thankyou, chocnomore. I have no experience of severe autism myself, but I have heard other people say this too. It must have been very difficult for you to make and stick to the decision.

OP posts:
chocnomore · 04/12/2013 22:51

alex, she is 5 now and speaking in sentences... her speech is more like that of a 2.5 -3 year old NT child but she now has functional language and can express her needs and wants. this has made her (and our) life a lot easier. so hopefully it was worth the sacrifice.

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