Speech Development Concern

It has been shown that when learning 2 languages simulatenously at a young age, both will be learned slower. But the advantage of eventually knowing 2 languages FAR outweigh the short delay that is experienced up front. I do not know how long the delay is noticeable, but I am multi-lingual and researched it when my kids were little. We did not stick with the 2nd language for them (my first is Dutch) since no-one else near us speaks it, not even my husband. Keep it up, I wished I had been able to.

Boys tend to take longer in speech anyways. And him being bilingual is awesome I dont think you need to worry too much

First, let me say that I am not a professional.

Second, it sounds like your son is communicating in three languages right now. That is pretty awesome. (English, Russian, and sign.) I am not sure how much research you have done on the subject (I am assuming quite a bit), but it never hurts to be reminded that when a child is learning multiple languages, they will often be labeled as "speech delayed" because they are assimilating all that information. But as someone who has learned languages later on can attest, learning multiple languages at the same time is hard work! Yes, he may be communicating less in English. But is you take Russian, English, and sign all together, how is he doing? Can he make himself understood to his grandparents using a combination of the three? How is his pronunciation compared with his peers? How much time does your co-worker spend with children your son's age?

Again, I am not a professional. But when our children are learning different skills than others, it is easier to see deficits in some areas. It is always a good idea to have our children assessed just to make sure we are not missing something. But I think that your son sounds like he is a bright boy and is a willing learner.

Good luck!

My neighbors speak English and Hindi. Her son is 28 months old also and speaks, but not really in sentences yet. She asked about it at the last pediatrician visit and she was assured that it was common with bilingual children. If you are really concerned, set your mind at ease with the evaluation. GL!

O.,

If you had reason to worry about autism, you would have written a much different post. Most of us with atutistc kids knew that something was wrong before anyone suggested that speech was a problem. You have reason to get him evaluated for his expressive language, yes, but remember too, he has two langagues that he is learning, and that is a lot of processing to do. Since it is Russian, it is a whole different alphebet, and different sounds too. It would be good for you to reach out to your local elementary school and ask to speak to the ESL teacher (English as a second lagnague) and ask if you can get some references for speech therapists who also can evaluate his Russian langague skills...you will not get the whole picture of his langague use if you only evaluate his English. It may take some digging, but find someone who can evaluate both, and who can tell you how to weigh this very special circumstance with clairity, so that you are not needlessly worried, or seek any therapy that may not be needed. I don't know how the two languages will figure in, and it may just be that he needs some assistance with his English, such that he uses it more and does not develop an expressive issue. Right now, there is no reason for you to panic about anything. You have a very young child, and you are seeking help for what is probably a minor issue.

If you have bigger worries, they will find you. But, that is not the whole story. It is not a happy thing to have a child with a disablity for sure, but you will not have a different child than the one that you love and adore right now. You will still feel over the top about him, and that will not change even if there is a ton of letters that describe his needs. Love, you will still love him, and do everything you can so that he will have a happy and wonderful life. Our kids are more like other kids than they are not like them. If it happens to you, yours will too. Right now, it has not happened, so don't fret.

M.

Because he is being brought up in a bilingual, there are bound to be delays in his speech. This is a normal thing. Keep speaking to him in both languages and he will work it out for himself. This excerpt is from this website http://www.answers.com/topic/language-delay

Environmental Causes

Common nonphysical causes of language delay include circumstances in which the following are the case:

* The child is concentrating on some other skill, such as walking perfectly, rather than on language.
* The child has a twin or sibling very close in age and thus may not receive as much individual attention.
* The child has older siblings who interpret so well that the child has no need to speak or whose talk is so continuous that the child lacks the opportunity to speak.
* The child is in a daycare situation with too few adults to provide individual attention.
* The child is under the care of a non-English speaker.
* The child is bilingual or multilingual, learning two or more languages simultaneously but at a slower speed; the child's combined comprehension of the languages is normal for that age.
I don't think that there is anything to worry about at this time. You can always keep an eye on it if you still have concerns, but your son is lucky. In the end, he will be fluent in both languages if they are both continued with him. Good Luck.

Calm down, O.. It sounds like it's the 2-language situation but it could be an actual delay so you should go ahead and have it checked out. If it's something worse, like autism, it'll become clear over time. A lot of parents wouldn't even be concerned at this early stage, so don't get too alarmed! Your profession makes it hard not to, I'm sure. Having him with a group of English-speaking kids and adults for a few hrs a week is a great idea. He is blessed to be bilingual!

Better to be safe than sorry and to have him evaluated by a speech therapist if you are concerned - and as 1 mom suggested, one used to dealing with kids who are bilingual. My son is bilingual as well - 27 months and goes to daycare full time - for a while i wondered if he was able to communicate there in English though he had no problems at home in our native language, but his speech just opened up one day and it seems he is doing fine in both now. Keep in mind kids are different and each has their own development milestones. That being said, an evaluation is still worth it to rule out anything and give you peace of mind - and if any delays are found, at least you can start the therapy early - kids seem to catch up by the time they go to school, but best to be proactive.

I think the apt with Early On will alleviate your fears. It sounds like he has great receptive language in two languages and expresses himself in two or three languages! at 28 months he should be using two word phrases not always whole sentences. Yes its true, a blingual child will have a slight delay but in the end he will be ahead of the game and you will be grateful he has the two languages! It sounds like you have nothing to worry about!

he talks better than my son and he only talks in one language. I am getting my evaluated for speech in about a month when insurance kicks in. Relax My son is slow due to ear problems but my oldest was this way too and is fine now. he only had to have about 6 months of speech. Relax mom I am not to worried about mine but realize he is a little slow and speech will fix it with time. My oldest was worse off than your son is and he is 21 and fine with no add or autism or anything like that.

Relax and take a deep breath! If your son is responding to commands in two languages, and knows words in two languages, that is a pretty good start. We were with Early On for over two years, and had a great experience. My daughter was language delayed. It was eventually determined she had sensory issues and when we started occupational therapy, she started talking. No other diagnoses, no label. She is now in kindergarten and considered within her normal range. Your son may have a language delay, but if he acts otherwise normal (affectionate and responsive, etc), don't go looking for trouble. :) He sounds like a smart kid who is learning two languages at once. He may be internalizing first before he gains confidence to start putting that knowledge into words. Best of luck and enjoy him!

Leave this to the professionals. Every state has a birth to three program. Contact the program in your state and they will do an evaluation for free. This is a critical time for developing language, so it is better to get started soon if there is an underlying issue.
Good luck,
C.

I'm thinking like 'S.B.' In a bilingual situation, you must remember, this little guy is learning English and Russian at the same time. And the sentence structure in English is far different than any other language!

I also think (I've posted something like this before) that there are two types of kids. Artistically minded and mechanically minded.

Artistically minded type kids won't do something until they think they've 'perfected' it... Including speech. My daughter didn't say more than a few words until after she turned 2 and then it was whole sentences. Like your little guy, she understood everything that was said to her, but she couldn't get the words quite right (in her head) so she didn't say them until she KNEW she could say them correctly and in the right context.

My son on the other hand... 'Mr. Repeat'. He tends to be more mechanically minded. Doesn't care how many times he 'messes it up', he'll keep going until he gets it right. He's a 'practice makes perfect' type... Not a, 'I better have this perfect before I do it' type.

O.,

Check out the book "Play to Talk" by Dr. Jim MacDonald. He teaches all parents how to communicate with their children so the child will become a wonderful communicator.

Here's his website:
http://www.jamesdmacdonald.org/Articles/MacDonaldStart.html

Dr. MacDonald mainly works with children who have speech delays or special needs, but his techniques can be applied to any child. I wouldn't worry about your son, if he is trying to communicate with you, then the speech will come. It's a bit early to panic at this point.

Good luck.

C. J.

Here is what i'm experiencing right now.My daughter is 19 months old she doesn't have the typical 50 word vocabulary we are working on it.She was evaluated for speech dealy @ 14 months per DR orders & my interest in why isn't she talking so the earlier intervention the better outcome after having 2 kids I try to stay on top of things I was worried about Autism she was already evaluated by her DR & speech therapy & another lady solely to look for other behavioral or learning disorders she has none just lack of speech so which now brings us to the school district for a hearing test she failed so the ENT she barely passed so here we go round 3 with another intensive hearing test & evaluation followed by what the DR see's & say's in regards to her hearing if it is middle ear caused by fluid or inner ear caused by nerve damage.I don't know what to do with myself some day's I look at her she is so healthy full of life I have to keep my thoughts in order she isn't dying if she needs tubes in her ears then i'll have to come to terms with that this will by my 3rd experience with all 3 of my kids having surgery or a hearing aid.My thoughts are all out of sorts my stress is getting to me can't sleep eating way to much,tired,sick to my stomach now getting pains all over from anxiety.If you need to send a personal message please feel free to do.

OK, I have been there with you FREAKED OUT!!!! You know what my saving grace was? Getting togethe with ECI and getting the help we needed, we still need lots of help and are getting it, but we were blessed with ECI they gave us a Family Therepist who was more for ME and I NEEDED that and he had lots of people that could help him. We even got in with a play group made up of ECI moms that was WONDERFUL having other mothers who have and are going thru the same things as me. I will URGE you to meet up with ECI and see if you can find the peace of mind you need because let's be honest you Never want to see it in your own child even if it is staring you in the face.

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