Parents of bilingual toddlers and/or late talkers

[gibbinator]

Does anyone have any bilingual talking toddlers that can tell me about their experience with learning to speak?

All these younger kids we know (mostly girls admittedly) are talking up a storm and seem to have dozens of words. I know that a) boys tend to talk later and b) learning 2 languages often causes kids to be delayed in speech when they're really young but it's hard not to worry.

Relevant info:
-DS is 19 months
-Regular words are: cat/chat, daddy, you're welcome (ah-come), dadela (seems to mean "I want that"). So only 4 really.
-Words he has used in the past but hasn't for a long time: up, down, mama, all done, tractor, eau, hélicoptère (co-tèr), Andrew
-We haven't tried signing.
-He has no trouble following instructions in French or English, so the language comprehension is definitely there.
-He speaks his gobbledygook constantly, to himself and to us.
-He doesn't seem to have any interest in mimicking sounds when we talk to him.

So, should I be worried and maybe make an appointment with a speech therapist, or do I just let it go for a few more months and see if he catches up by his birthday?

[zeewifeandmama]

I think I would see how he is as his bday approaches. 19 months still seems early to me. But, I'm no expert.

[Deleted]

My only comment is that I didn't realize DS had hearing issues from his ear infections and I wish we'd done the hearing test sooner (did it following his second birthday when he was obviously behind in speech). I think at 2, she wanted him to be using two word sentences and he was not. With him being bilingual, I'd give him until 2 before even considering speech therapy. At this age, it's just parent therapy in my experience. (stuff to try that you're likely doing most of anyway)

[Deleted]

No experience with a bilingual toddler, but experience with a speech delay.

I don't know. I think if you're concerned it's worth a discussion with the pedi and/or a speech therapist. The receptive cognition is a very good sign though. Does he point or use gestures to make his point? My concerns with DD were on both the receptive and expressive ends, but had very little to do with actual words. She was behind in following instructions and didn't do things like point. She qualified for EI @ 15 mos even though she has a handful of words.

I would consider trying signs. DD did really well with them.

Also, friends of ours have a bilingual child and he had a language explosion @ 2 and there are absolutely no concerns now.

[Deleted]

Oh, also I noticed frustration from DD. That typically comes from trying to communicate but not being able to. That I noticed later, but something to be on the lookout for.

[Deleted]

Oh and I have no idea what things are like where you are, but here the wait for public services is around 6 months, so if you think there's maybe a problem it's worth getting waitlisted via your doctor asap. Mine said she was doing it and then forgot... which set us back another 6 months. Privately, we paid $80/hr and DH's insurance covered 80% up to $500 (but we just did one appt).

[cep1976]

So, my 19 month old daughter is speech delayed, and while we're not a bilingual home, her DCP speaks to her exclusively in Spanish, and we speak English at home, so she's bilingual in a way.

She has essentially, one word, which is uh-oh. And even that is not particularly clear, it's more clear from her intonation that's what she is saying. She also speaks gibberish constantly. And while she'll babble Mama, and will point/look at me if we ask her where Mama is, she's never said it deliberately. Same with Dada.

It's very clear there is no problem with her receptive language. She understands everything, can point out tons of body parts (in English and Spanish), and will follow simple directions. She does do some signing.

She's also gross motor delayed, and honestly, it sounds crazy, but I think some of her problem stems from the fact that she doesn't get frustrated. She's very go with the flow. She just never got bothered when a toy was out of reach to try to move herself to get to it, and now she doesn't seem bothered that she can't necessarily communicate what she wants to us. Which is a great personality trait in some ways, but not so much when you're trying to encourage them to move and talk.

She's been in physical therapy since 6 months and speech since maybe just under a year? I can't remember when we added that exactly.

I'd talk to your pedi if you're concerned. We need to take her for a hearing test, as our pedi has every child who is struggling with speech production take one. We haven't seen any indications that there's any hearing difficulty, though.

Some things the speech therapist has us do is a lot of pointing at things in books while naming thing, and using her finger to point to them as well. Also, holding up toys while next to our mouths while saying the word for them. Like, she has a big knob puzzle of animals, and we'll hold the animal up next to our mouth and say the name over and over.

[gibbinator]

cep1976, your description of your DD matches DS perfectly, right down to having gross motor delays because he never TRIED to move, he was just happy to sit there toyless and clap his hands or whathaveyou. He's very go with the flow.

He also seems perfectly content with getting his point across through pointing or shaking his head no until we figure out what he wants through process of elimination.

I have no idea what the wait is for speech therapy, will ask at the apt we have the 31st.

[cep1976]

Jan 22, 2014 14:48:26 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

cep1976, your description of your DD matches DS perfectly, right down to having gross motor delays because he never TRIED to move, he was just happy to sit there toyless and clap his hands or whathaveyou. He's very go with the flow.

He also seems perfectly content with getting his point across through pointing or shaking his head no until we figure out what he wants through process of elimination.

I have no idea what the wait is for speech therapy, will ask at the apt we have the 31st.

Good luck! I'm always happy to answer questions.

And really, there's not much they can do to get them talking, we do a lot of those same exercises over and over. You could definitely try adding in some signing, though, my kid still is very hit or miss with it. She knows the signs, she just can't be bothered to do them half the time. (Unless M&Ms are involved, and then you've never seen someone sign "More" more frantically in your life, as my mom found out when giving her a treat over the holidays, lol.)

We've got our next speech therapy appointment tomorrow. I'll let you know if there's any new exercises they have us do.

[chickens987]

Jan 22, 2014 14:32:37 GMT -5 cep1976 said:

So, my 19 month old daughter is speech delayed, and while we're not a bilingual home, her DCP speaks to her exclusively in Spanish, and we speak English at home, so she's bilingual in a way.

She has essentially, one word, which is uh-oh. And even that is not particularly clear, it's more clear from her intonation that's what she is saying. She also speaks gibberish constantly. And while she'll babble Mama, and will point/look at me if we ask her where Mama is, she's never said it deliberately. Same with Dada.

It's very clear there is no problem with her receptive language. She understands everything, can point out tons of body parts (in English and Spanish), and will follow simple directions. She does do some signing.

She's been in physical therapy since 6 months and speech since maybe just under a year? I can't remember when we added that exactly.

This is really interesting to me. We're fast approaching the dreaded "5 words by 18 months" that I've heard so much about (though who knows if our pedi cares about that) and we have the same one word - uh-oh. DD has great comprehension, just no words. She also has been on the later side for all of her gross motor, but not specifically delayed and her pedi's never been concerned. I am just starting to panic a little.

[ijack]

DD was delayed until 2 years and it was like a switch flipped and in one month she went from about a 14m expressive language to a 24m expressive age. It was amazing. I would hold off and see what happens.

[osulori]

It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk to a speech therapist to get their opinion, especially since I magine SLPs in your area see a fair amount of bilingual kids and may be able to help you sort out whether its an appropriate delay given his bilingualness or if its something that could be helped by speech therapy. But I can definitely see the justification in waiting until he's closer to 2 also, given that he's coming into an age range for a huge language explosion.

[cep1976]

Jan 22, 2014 15:02:23 GMT -5 chickens987 said:

Jan 22, 2014 14:32:37 GMT -5 cep1976 said:

So, my 19 month old daughter is speech delayed, and while we're not a bilingual home, her DCP speaks to her exclusively in Spanish, and we speak English at home, so she's bilingual in a way.

She has essentially, one word, which is uh-oh. And even that is not particularly clear, it's more clear from her intonation that's what she is saying. She also speaks gibberish constantly. And while she'll babble Mama, and will point/look at me if we ask her where Mama is, she's never said it deliberately. Same with Dada.

It's very clear there is no problem with her receptive language. She understands everything, can point out tons of body parts (in English and Spanish), and will follow simple directions. She does do some signing.

She's been in physical therapy since 6 months and speech since maybe just under a year? I can't remember when we added that exactly.

This is really interesting to me. We're fast approaching the dreaded "5 words by 18 months" that I've heard so much about (though who knows if our pedi cares about that) and we have the same one word - uh-oh. DD has great comprehension, just no words. She also has been on the later side for all of her gross motor, but not specifically delayed and her pedi's never been concerned. I am just starting to panic a little.

Honestly, I would worry more if I felt like she wasn't understanding things than I do with her not being able to speak. And I think we got into speech early because we were already in PT, and she was having some issues with eating solids, so we got a ST who specialized in feeding. (Although all they ever seemed to do feeding-wise was watch her eat   and she eventually got much better at that on her own.)

She's been making great gains with motor recently, and I think her speech development has really taken a back seat during that time. Both the pedi and therapists say it is not unusual for kids to focus on one area at a time, so if she's been working at gross motor, speech may follow later.

[fryjack2]

Our boys are 21 months old. I speak to them in Arabic&English, and everyone else speaks to them in English. They understand everything and one is just starting to try to mimic what we say more. They only had 1 word (nana for banana) at a year. They have maybe 10 words now, none of them are really clear words other than uh oh. They sign "more" and "please."

We had a speech eval yesterday (passed hearing tests) and they thought Jack (Henry's is next week) would benefit from speech. She said as the gap between what he understands and what he can say increases, the more frustrated he will get and the harder it will be for all of us. Especially as he starts to understand 2 part phrases more like, "take your hat off the chair and put it in the basket." He already understands that stuff and he already gets frustrated.

It wouldn't hurt to ask your pedi. It can take awhile to get in so maybe make an appointment just to have it in the books?

[jloww]

Not bilingual, but DD is almost two and just recently acquired 4 words. No they are mama, dada (both, finally with purpose!), uh oh, and yeah.   This is not counting animal sounds. She's been in speech since 15 months (on my own accord, not the pedis).

i used to really worry, but recently I've kind of come to peace with it.  Almost everyone talks when they're 4, right?  They probably will too.  

[lilles]

My DDs (3.5 and 5.5)are bilingual in English/Spanish and fluent in both languages. We use the One Parent One Language Approach. We were lucky in that they did not have any language delays. In fact some of the latest research states bilingualism should not be a factor in delayed speech. Of course for every article stating that there is another contradicting it. I would talk to your pedi for peace of mind and if he is concern then make an appointment with a speech therapist. Let me know if you have any questions.

[drloretta]

DD isn't bilingual, but was a late talker. At 9 months I started to worry because everyone else's kids seemed to be doing more language-wise than she was. Her dr was very much unconcerned. Her motor stuff was off the charts, language just wasn't something she wanted to focus on. At 18 months she said uh-oh and that was it. I saw a crazy new pedi at that age who freaked out and wanted me to teach her to talk. I found a new dr a month later (I disliked the new pedi for reasons other than the language concern), and DD had already gone from 1 word to 10. That dr said she typically doesn't see cause for concern until age 2.

But it's all relative. A friend has a DS exactly the same age as DD. At 16 months he wasn't walking or talking, and he started EI then. Then there's my brother who didn't talk until he was 3, which also happened with his son (they were more than happy to point and grunt). And friends whose kids were bilingual and didn't really get going until age 18-24m.

IMO it wouldn't hurt to ask about it, but don't be surprised if it's not necessary and he takes off in the next 2-4 months.

[leonard131]

Not bilingual and M is only 16 months but we were at the doctor yesterday for his checkup ( a month late) and told the Dr. he really only had 3-4 words.  She said that was good for a boy and that the concern isn't so much actual speaking of the words but the comprehension and interaction.  Boys talk later but if he wasn't comprehending, interacting, had a problem with fine motor skills or making what he wants known (pointing to things, understanding choices, etc.) then she would be worried.

M's only solid words are baby, up  and dada and uh oh.   When I hear about other kids clearly saying words I do go into my panic mode but I try to focus on his comprehension and take it from there.

Of course I do believe if you have some resources that could be of potential help that it doesn't hurt to call. 

[anna7602]

Dd didn't have a ton of words by 18/19 months, but then she had a literal explosion around 23 or 24 months. She went from saying just a few random different words in both languages and making animal sounds to suddenly speaking fluently in full sentences in both languages.

[Saudade]

DS is 23 months and we do ASL, Spanish, and English. I really feel like we fucked him over, even though I know in the future it will benefit him. He has quite a few words/sentences, but nthing like that of his cousins of the same age. However, those cousins are not doing ASL and/or Spanish.

I do plan to bring it up to his pedi next month.

[Shreddingbetty]

DD has always been very much a chatty Cathy in both English and French from an early age. She definitely did not have a language delay despite the two languages. She is pretty advanced verbally. Her BFF boyfriend is the exact same age and was slower to start speaking and even now he does not speak like DD. They speak a fair amount of Spanish at home though not at all exclusively. They are from Argentina. Her other BFF just turned 3 and mom is italian. Her grandparents are here at least once a year for an extended stay (90 days) and last year they had an italian au pair. She is not delayed but more at the lower end of normal. I can understand her just fine most of the time (she also had multiple ear infections and ended up with tubes so that is more than likely to blame for it). I think it is really hard to say whether or not a second langauge causes the delay. Lots of kids with one language have a delay but have nothing "to blame" it on so to speak. It is very easy to blame it on a second language
Check out this article: link

there are lots of comments from people that have been through it including from a trilingual speech pathologist. You may find this helpful. I think there are a few comments from people who have more than one kid and each kid had a totally different experience. 

[holly116]

My DS1 will be two on Valentines Day. We've been in the doctors office a lot the last few months with the new baby and I brought up his speech probably three months ago. I kept telling myself not to worry, he's a boy, he's a second child and DH tries to speech German as much as possible around the kids. Blah, blah, blah. I was still worried. Same story, he understands everything but just wasn't clicking with words. He certainly didn't have five words by 18 months.

She said to try not to worry till he hit two. She predicted a speech explosion and you know what, here at 23 months we've had it. Just this week he started really putting sentences together and the new words are rolling in every day. It's amazing to see.

So, I'd bring it up with your doctor, maybe get on a list if there's a six month wait and hopefully soon you'll little guy will open up like mine.

[glitterfart]

My DD is bilingual and although she had words, she really didn't say anything I cold understand until she was 2-2.5. And really, she didn't begin to talk non-stop in sentences until a few months before her third birthday.

She talked, but not words we could understand. Now at not quite 3.5 years she is constntly talking, in either language and has no trouble switching from one to the other.

Our pedi was most unconcerned since it was obvious that she could hear and understand what was being said. If I whispered a command she would carry it out.

[Dorothy Zbornak]

Jan 22, 2014 14:13:02 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

Does anyone have any bilingual talking toddlers that can tell me about their experience with learning to speak?

All these younger kids we know (mostly girls admittedly) are talking up a storm and seem to have dozens of words. I know that a) boys tend to talk later and b) learning 2 languages often causes kids to be delayed in speech when they're really young but it's hard not to worry.

Relevant info:
-DS is 19 months
-Regular words are: cat/chat, daddy, you're welcome (ah-come), dadela (seems to mean "I want that"). So only 4 really.
-Words he has used in the past but hasn't for a long time: up, down, mama, all done, tractor, eau, hélicoptère (co-tèr), Andrew
-We haven't tried signing.
-He has no trouble following instructions in French or English, so the language comprehension is definitely there.
-He speaks his gobbledygook constantly, to himself and to us.
-He doesn't seem to have any interest in mimicking sounds when we talk to him.

So, should I be worried and maybe make an appointment with a speech therapist, or do I just let it go for a few more months and see if he catches up by his birthday?

I have two bilingual kiddos (5 and 21 months), German and English. My daughter (5) was also super way behind all the German kids for a long time. Kind of what you describe. All the German-only kids were speaking in two-three word sentences while she just had single words. Also, her English was stronger than her German, even though I work full time and she was at home with her German-speaking father. Once she started German preschool at three, that changed completely, though. She speaks just as well, if not better, than her German peers. Her English is kind of weird now, but that's to be expected since we live in Germany.

My son is starting to speak more, but also just single words. I wouldn't expect your son to "catch up" by two, to be honest. I think our daughter's language really started to take off at 2.5. The only thing that might concern me is that he isn't interested in mimicking sounds.

[zarapipe]

DD was delayed, had speech therapy a few times but it was just too much $$ for us because we made too much for EI therapy, just their evaluation. The therapist told us she would catch up if we wanted to quit therapy it would just take longer. Sure enough she did. Her speech explosion didn't happen 2.5. She is almost four and talks up a storm.

[anna7602]

Jan 23, 2014 7:54:17 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

Jan 22, 2014 14:13:02 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

Her English is kind of weird now, but that's to be expected since we live in Germany.

My daughter now speaks Spanish with a French accent.

[MamaMaui24]

Another speech delay mom signing in. This book is great. Definitely not a replacement for SLP or anything, but while you're waiting, it might help you at home.

(It's expensive.)

It Takes Two To Talk: A Practical Guide For Parents of Children With Language Delays by Jan Pepper
Link: amzn.com/0921145195

[holly116]

Jan 23, 2014 7:54:17 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

Jan 22, 2014 14:13:02 GMT -5 gibbinator said:

Does anyone have any bilingual talking toddlers that can tell me about their experience with learning to speak?

All these younger kids we know (mostly girls admittedly) are talking up a storm and seem to have dozens of words. I know that a) boys tend to talk later and b) learning 2 languages often causes kids to be delayed in speech when they're really young but it's hard not to worry.

Relevant info:
-DS is 19 months
-Regular words are: cat/chat, daddy, you're welcome (ah-come), dadela (seems to mean "I want that"). So only 4 really.
-Words he has used in the past but hasn't for a long time: up, down, mama, all done, tractor, eau, hélicoptère (co-tèr), Andrew
-We haven't tried signing.
-He has no trouble following instructions in French or English, so the language comprehension is definitely there.
-He speaks his gobbledygook constantly, to himself and to us.
-He doesn't seem to have any interest in mimicking sounds when we talk to him.

So, should I be worried and maybe make an appointment with a speech therapist, or do I just let it go for a few more months and see if he catches up by his birthday?

I have two bilingual kiddos (5 and 21 months), German and English. My daughter (5) was also super way behind all the German kids for a long time. Kind of what you describe. All the German-only kids were speaking in two-three word sentences while she just had single words. Also, her English was stronger than her German, even though I work full time and she was at home with her German-speaking father. Once she started German preschool at three, that changed completely, though. She speaks just as well, if not better, than her German peers. Her English is kind of weird now, but that's to be expected since we live in Germany.

My son is starting to speak more, but also just single words. I wouldn't expect your son to "catch up" by two, to be honest. I think our daughter's language really started to take off at 2.5. The only thing that might concern me is that he isn't interested in mimicking sounds.

What part of Germany are you in? My sister is living in Berlin and DH lived in Nieder Bayern for a while.

[osulori]

Jan 23, 2014 11:31:28 GMT -5 MamaMaui24 said:

Another speech delay mom signing in. This book is great. Definitely not a replacement for SLP or anything, but while you're waiting, it might help you at home.

(It's expensive.)

It Takes Two To Talk: A Practical Guide For Parents of Children With Language Delays by Jan Pepper
Link: amzn.com/0921145195

This is a great book...but then again, I might be biased.  Considering I'm certified to teach the parent education course that the book is a companion to

[Dorothy Zbornak]

Jan 23, 2014 20:28:01 GMT -5 holly116 said:

Jan 23, 2014 7:54:17 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

I have two bilingual kiddos (5 and 21 months), German and English. My daughter (5) was also super way behind all the German kids for a long time. Kind of what you describe. All the German-only kids were speaking in two-three word sentences while she just had single words. Also, her English was stronger than her German, even though I work full time and she was at home with her German-speaking father. Once she started German preschool at three, that changed completely, though. She speaks just as well, if not better, than her German peers. Her English is kind of weird now, but that's to be expected since we live in Germany.

My son is starting to speak more, but also just single words. I wouldn't expect your son to "catch up" by two, to be honest. I think our daughter's language really started to take off at 2.5. The only thing that might concern me is that he isn't interested in mimicking sounds.

What part of Germany are you in? My sister is living in Berlin and DH lived in Nieder Bayern for a while.

We're currently near Heidelberg, but are moving to Düsseldorf mid March.

Berlin is awesome!