Bilingualism
Bilingualism is of course not a disorder! There are communities all over the world where speaking more than one language is the norm.
On the other hand, children from a bilingual home can be affected by speech and language problems just as other children are. Problems may be overlooked during routine checks, or considered (ill-advisedly) to be the result of the child's bilingual background. Some bilingual/multilingual children do not develop normal speech skills in any of the languages used at home. They may have a language delay/disorder (or other problem): it is not related to acquiring English as a second language since it affects all language acquisition.
Where a therapist does not speak the family's first language, it is important to use trained bilingual co-workers and interpreters to help with assessment, support and advice. This applies to the speech and language therapist's work:
- with children
- with older bilingual people with conditions (e.g. dysphagia) where careful explanation and advice is needed.
Some children in bilingual homes may start to speak, but not make progress quite as fast as monolingual children (even when there is no actual developmental problem). If parents are concerned, they can seek advice on the ways of using two or more languages at home. Some simple techniques can be adopted which are more likely to help children learn.
It is very important to recognise children who are not developing language skills in any language so investigations can be arranged to try and establish the cause. In addition to seeking assessments by other professionals (e.g. of hearing ability and/or developmental progress), the speech and language therapist may:
- Try to assess the child's efforts in all the home languages.
- Advise on simplifying adult speech used to the child.
- Advise on the use of the different languages in the home to promote progress in each.
- Offer language therapy appropriate for the child's age-group and developmental level.
Some points you may wish to discuss with any therapist you contact:
- The therapist's specialist credentials in the area of bilingualism. (Some therapists are members of a Specific Interest Group which holds regular study days; some therapists are bilingual themselves and may therefore offer therapy in their other language/s.)
- Does the therapist have access to assessments/checklists in your child's language/s. If at all possible, it is important to assess the child in all the languages he/she is exposed to. This can be difficult to arrange, especially as many tests are only available in English and may have cultural bias. (Some speech and language assessment materials are available, however, in Punjabi, Bengali and Turkish.) Sometimes the ideal full assessment cannot be arranged.
- How much experience the therapist has with bilingualism and with the sort of problems that affect language acquisition. With adult clients, the therapist obviously needs to be able to advise on the relevant problem (e.g. dysphagia, use of AAC, etc.)
- Where the therapist sees people for assessment/therapy.
- How much the therapist charges for assessment and/or regular therapy.
Click here to search for Speech Therapists in your area with Bilingualism as a specialty.