Not Speaking Much at 20 Months in a Multilingual Family

Hi G.,

It sounds like you should definitely go ahead with calling EI. I think you said you are in Cambridge? The EI you would call would be Cambridge-Somerville EI, and they are a wonderful EI. They have a great team of people who I think you would be quite happy with. I used to work for a program that worked in conjunction with the EI. If you don't have their phone number already, I can locate it for you so you can speak with them and set up a time for a visit with them.

Early Intervention is to help, not to diagnose or scare, why not try it and see if there is an issue? Since he responds and does attempt to communicate I wouldn't be super worried. And on the other hand what a rich lingual environment you provide for you child. Good Luck, Nat

My second daughter also didn't speak much until over 2-1/2 (she's now 3-1/2) and I worried a little too, except she too understood everything and was well able to get through to us what she needed. Her older sister did a lot of "talking" for her, so she simply didn't need to speak. I also had Early Intervention recommended but never followed through. She started talking on her own one day and hasn't stopped. :-)
So as long as everything else is normal, I wouldn't worry too much.
Good luck!

Dear G.,
I wouldn't worry, for all the reasons you cited. My son didn't speak much at all until about two years old because he was being spoken to in three languages also. But just in case, take the EI referral. It can only help. Your son will be very articulate, you'll see! Congratulations on baby #2.

Hi G., I'm a pediatric Speech - Language Pathologist. Sounds like your son is on track in lots of areas, and in many ways is ahead of the game since he has so much experience with 3 languages! That's great! Comprehension is fine, so that's an indication that he's understanding language and is most likely hearing you fine. I usually encourage an audiological exam (hearing test) by a licensed audiologist rather than just a screening at the pediatrician's office when there are questions about speech development. Some children's hearing acuity is fine for speech in general, but they may miss some high frequency sounds. Doesn't sound like this is the case since he's producing /s/ and /t/, but it's always good to rule it out if your insurance will cover the exam.

I think seeking out Early Intervention at this age is a great idea, at least to either confirm or rule out any difficulties - and why not give him some assistance in learning those sounds early on. If he's having trouble with some of those vowel sounds, it might be lack of tongue movement or ability - but it could just be that he hasn't experimented with those sounds yet. Sounds like "ee" require him to pull his tongue back and tight in the mouth - he might have trouble with tongue retraction. I must say, he does sound like he's on track for the sounds he needs - but vowels can be trickier... and maybe having someone take a look at his oral-motor skills isn't a bad idea. I think the pediatrician is only taking this precaution because the lack of progress... this should be a time of language booming!!

I don't think the multilingual environment is delaying him at all - the only thing that might occur there is some confusion about word order or word forms since in some languages (Spanish), it's reverse from English. I think it's fabulous that he's exposed to so many languages.

Keep me posted and let me know if you have more questions.

go to early intervention or a speech therapist... he will have tons of fun and it will ease your mind
we did with our little man and now he won't STOP talking
best
I.

I have seven children. Fourteen grandchildren and one greatgrandchild.
Here is a fact not to be disregarded.
Children develope at different ages.
Some talk at one, others 18 months, others at two years.
Sounds like if he can say words, make sounds, communicate with signs, he is all set.
You have had him checked and all is good.
RELAX..give it a tincture of time.
He is fine.
You are not. Why do you expect him to be fluently speaking at 20 months?
One day he will just start jabbering away in all his languages and you will wish he didnt speak yet.
Tincture of time
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell

As an early childhood educator I would suggest getting him screened. That is what EI is there for. It is so important to catch things early - if there is nothing wrong that would be great - but if for some reason there is then you will be helping him greatly. It's the idea that you said he seems like he CAN'T make the sounds which would worry me. I would definitely call the early intervention people and set up an appointment. Multilingual should not delay speech production - according to what I have read at least.

My son did not talk much, but at 24 months to the day, he was singing his abcs in bed at 2 AM in the morning and has not stopped talking since. Before that, I had similar concerns (although not the bilingual component) but everything worked out fine. I also have a friend who was very, very concerned about her son not talking and right around his 2 year birthday he exploded with language. It's amazing what 4 months will do. Lastly, my daughter really didn't start talking until she was 2 years and 3 months. Keep up the good work!

G.,

Your son will certainly have more of a delay because of the mulitlingual exposure he has. He has to process a lot more than others his age. However, having his interviewed by early intervention can only help. We just had our daughter interview because she had issues in utero from cord stragulation and has been slow to crawl. The interview process is free and can only help you evaluate your son's speech. Even if he is eligable you don't have to take the services but it will let you know where he is in the development of speech.

L. M

I am not an expert on any of this, just a 22 yr old mama, but i wouldn't really worry. My son is 17 months, and says barely anything either. I try and make it seem like silly sounds he makes are words, but it's pretty much key-key (kitty), bah-bah (bye-bye) ehmo (Elmo.. of course) no...(no), and mama and dada. It seems to me (again not an expert or anything) that if you put all those languages together, hes right on track!! He just hears so much more than one language.. it probably just gets a little jumbled. Good for you for teaching him so much though!! I wish i knew more than just English and a few signs. Again, don't worry too much. Maybe call early intervention and see what their opinion is if you are truly concerned. Remember, mommy always knows whats best for her baby! :-)

Over 100 Signs?! Wow. And comprehends more than one spoken language?! Amazing. Sounds like your son is off to a great start.
First, I wouldn't be too concerned. My daughter spoke very little until 25 months. She was a signing baby, too. When she did start verbalizing words, they practically came out in full sentences. And, when you son does start verbalizing, chances are he will do so with sign, so you will know what word he is attempting and you'll be able to help perfect his speech very quickly.
Second, be sure to check in with your Pediatrician and express your concerns. Your instincts will tell you something is wrong.

Bon Chance~

M.

absolutely call them. it takes a few weeks to get an appt and to get his evals set up.. you can always cancel the whole thing if he all of a sudden starts to talk. But he's hearing a lot of different languages too so maybe there's' some confusion.. but yes, call them.. they may find other things that are going on with him that may hinder his speech. it's all free so why not?

There is some evidence that children from multilingual families speak later, but that's not anything to worry about - they have, if anything, larger vocabularies in the long run. Your son sounds very similar to my daughter at that age - she signed at least 100 words and said about the same number of spoken words. We have a partially bilingual home in that I sometimes speak French to her, but not nearly as consistently as I should. We did have an Early Intervention evaluation - not because my pediatrician was worried, but to put my mind at ease. My daughter really enjoyed the evaluation (they play games) and she did not qualify for services. If she qualified I'm sure she would have enjoyed whatever work they would have done with her, and it was nice to get a professional opinion so I could stop worrying.

Congrats on baby #2 also!

I don't think it's too early to call early intervention. They will screen him to see how delayed if at all. My 3 1/2 daughter had a speech delay and went to early intervention. It was a great experience and she got a lot out of it.

Good Luck and I'm sure he will be speaking before you know it.

Definitely call Early Intervention! We called and had our son evaluated at 18 months - it was for different reasons than yours (my son is on the Autism Spectrum) but it really is amazing what Early Intervention can do (with any problems). And I believe it is NEVER too early! I hope this helps! : )

Hi

I have to agree with Melinda. Our Ped dr was concerned for at the time our 13 month old that she was not on track. I did use the service that is in NH and was free. It was a great evaluation and it also gave us input to help things along. Turned out there was no need at the time for more and it put my mind at ease. I would recommend it. It is quick and painless and only takes an hour. However, for us there was atleast a month to get into an appoinment.

M.

Speaking from experience, it's not too early to try some speech therapy. My children are now 12 and 11, and when my son(2nd child) was an infant, we too were concerned about his speech. Most likely the cause of my son's delayed speech was his older sister speaking for him, or always responding to his needs before he needed to "talk" for himself. It sounds like you communicate well with your son, and he is getting everything he needs without having to communicate verbally.
Get him checked, especially before your next child arrives. Most likely you will find he is highly intelligent and he will learn to communicate verbally in any language at his own pace. Once my son started talking, we couldn't get him to stop! Best of all, we did it all before he started preschool and kindergarten, so there was no concern or question about his academic capabilities. Best wishes.

Hi,
You should definately call EI and have your son evaluated. It is great that he knows so many signs! We used alot of signing and had much less frustration when she was able to use that for communication. Does your son make grunting sounds and point alot? If so he could have a speech disorder. My daughter received OT/ Speech Therapy from EI and when she turned three they helped get her into our towns pre-school program where there is an SLP in the class.
There is no reason not to call EI; either your child will receive needed therapy or your worries will be eased by knowing he is on track.
Good Luck

It is never to early to start early intervention. I waited with my daughter figuring she would grow out of it. but last summer i decided i couldnt wait anymore.. she is 5 now and has only been going to speech therapy once a week for about 5 months now.. she talks alot more and we can understand everything she says to us now..

My son who is now almost 3 is very similar to yours and we are not multilingual. I had many concerns also and now feel like I waited a little too long to contact REACH. He was
2 1/2 when I finally contacted early intervention. Turned out that he has only articulation problems where as all other development is perfectly normal. Finally learning this info did put my mind at ease a little. We have been having speech therapy sessions about twice a month and it helps a little and also with time he seems to improve on his own. Now the REACH program is helping my son to transition into our local preschool to continue with speech therapy for as long as he needs it. I found this early intervention program to be very helpful. It doesn't hurt to ask questions.

Hi G. - my daughter (now 6 1/2) was a late speaker as well. My husband speaks Spanish to her and everyone says bilingual kids are often later to speak. As it turns out, she was slightly developmentally delayed and neends both speech and occupational therapy. She is doing great now, but I really wish I had done early intervention (she ended up getting services when she was 4). The early intervention program is really good and doesn't cost anything and by all accounts, the earlier a child gets help the better. By the way - I was really worried about my daughter when I got her screened and although she needs some extra help, she is doing great, is totally engaged at school etc. So, although it is impossible to control, don't get too worried - there are many wonderfil educators out there to help!
Take care, O.

Hi

I have four children. My first started talking at 9 months....he hasnt stopped yet sometimes I wish he would slow down a bit but he doesnt. My three next children each did not talk until they were two. My daughter who is the second child didnt even have as many words as your son...she had one sound. She could hear and she understood what everone was saying she just didnt talk. One day she just woke up and talked. My two youngest sons did the same thing...they had a few more words between not talking and talking but not many. Your son has many many more words to learn. I think he is a lucky little boy to be exposed to so many languages. I am sure he will catch up and surprise you one of these days. Good luck

Hi G.,
use the referral! The earlier EI (Early Intervention) gets to work with your son, the sooner they can help. They are specially trained to work with this age group, and know how to make the sessions fun for your son. also, if they are not worried about his speech, he won't qualify for services. But - the earlier they work with him the sooner they can help. (I used to work for an EI program as a Social worker). The program is free and they will work with you in your own home - no reason to wait!

Good Luck to you!
Warmly,
E.

G.,
I would have Early Intervention evaluate him...it won't hurt. It is a great program and doesn't cost anything. I am not familar with the speech progress for children in bilingual families but know that boys do develop and speak later then girls and especially being the first born. My son was in the early intervention program and we were very happy with it and wished he had been in it earlier. Although he had a slight delay in his speech he had a major delay in his motor skills so he only qualified for physical therapy. They focused more on the motor skills but always checked his speech progress which was slow but improved. You should definately give Early Intervention a call.

Hi G.
My son said only a few words until just before he turned two. He said "mama", and "woof" for a dog, and something involving a d sound for daddy (it wasn't always the same) and "buh" for nursing... and also for nearly everything else. Yet he made himself understood, even to most strangers. Then, just before he turned 2, he started saying new words every day and before we knew it he was talking quite a lot. Now he is 4 and can talk your ear off! We are not multilingual, but I hope this story encourages you.

I also knew a very intelligent little boy who didn't speak (just English) till he was 3... but then he spoke in full sentences! Remembering that when by boy wasn't saying much helped me relax about it.

Best wishes to you and your family.

Hi G.,
I am also French and speak it exclusively to our sons (25 months and 6 months). I don't think it would hurt to get your son evaluated, especially if it makes you feel better, but from I've been through with my son, what you are describing sounds normal.

Our 2 year old was the same way at that age and all of a sudden in the last 2 months, his language drastically developed. Of course, I'm not sure it is AS developed as another same age child in a unilingual household, but definitely a lot better than it was a few months ago. All of a sudden, around 22 months, he started repeating what we said, and also saying words we didn't even know he knew! His vocabulary started to expand drastically in a period of a month, and he went from saying a few basic words and sounds, to making 2-3 word "sentences", sometimes a mixture of french and english (my husband speaks only English)...for example, he'll say "encore milk, maman".

His receptive language skills were always right on track for his age (like your son, he would understand whatever we'd ask of him in either language, like "go get your boots" " va ouvrir la porte au chien"...etc. without hesitation), which made me feel a lot better.
We've actually moved to NH from VA about 6 months ago, and neither our pedi in VA nor the one here (and they don't know each other ;-) told us we had anything to worry about or recommended we have him evaluated.

Feel free to email me if you have more questions, I've been there, I know how easy it is to worry about language, especially when you hear other children the same age speak a lot more, but try not to, at least for now. It should all get better soon!!!

____@____.com

C.

Hi,

I'd say, for the most part, though I'm not an expert, your son is on the right track. I have 3 kids, each being raised bilingually. And like the others have already mentioned, each child spoke at a different rate, each with his or her own fortes and difficulties. My son, the youngest, also started late and I was concerned because his sisters' had spoken much earlier. he was probably at about the same place your son is now when he was 20 months, but now at 25 months he has a handful of new words every day.

I live overseas so I have no experience with Early Intervention, but a second opinion never hurts.

Good luck.

It can't hurt to give them a call even after they come do the evaluation if he's eligible you don't have to except services if you don't want to. My 21 month old just had his evaluation done on Tuesday and I was nervous but he interacted really well with the ladies that came to our home. He is behind in language expression and comprehension so we will be having someone come out to the house 1 day a week for an hour and we will be attending a group program one day a week also. I wish had called them earlier but I'm glad that I did call them and that he will get the help that he needs to communicate more. Good luck and let us know how everything goes.

I wouldn't blame (or accept any blame due to) the multi-lingual environment. I think it's great that the kids will be so conversant! They will be so experienced and at ease in different cultures, not just languages. So that is great.

My son was a late talker (16 months) so I know how this feels. He was on target in every other area, and once he started talking, he never shut up. However, if he hadn't started by 18 months, our pediatrician said we would start an evaluation.

It sounds like the issue is that your son doesn't make certain sounds, regardless of the language. You have nothing to lose by contacting early intervention - if there is something that needs to be done, then you will have started down that road before your son learns a lot of improper sound techniques. The services are usually free so cost shouldn't be a deterrent. I would say to do it - you were concerned enough to write, so I would say to make the appointments and let a couple of speech experts take a look at him. Why not?

Good luck!

Hi

My son had the same problem. He was four and didn't talk much and he didn't sign. I spoke english to him and my husband spoke arabic to him.

I read that bilingual children take longer to talk so I didn't worry. His pediatrician lined us up with intervention, though and I went ahead and used it.

Within a month he was talking up a storm.

I wouldn't worry, but if the doctor suggests intervention, go ahead and take it because it couldn't hurt.

Don't, however, let anyone tell you to speak only one language to your child. Their reasoning is ridiculous and it does your child a disservice.

I understand being mildly worried, but let me tell you about my almost 3-year-old who had scarcely deigned to talk until she was 2. Now she can carry on a very complex conversation without many mispronunciations, unlike most children who have adorable mistakes for years. My guess is your son will be so loquacious you will long for the day when he didn't talk constantly in not too long!
But in response to your question, I have struggled for 5 years of parenthood between accepting the help that is offered and refusing to worry because my children will probably grow out of whatever problem they are currently having. I think that I would take Early Intervention if you are on their radar, because it might help your child and it might help you to be able to teach him better. What a lucky child to have three languages to learn!

Hi G.,

There's no harm in evaluating him to be sure all is well. I think I heard that children in multilingual families/situations are slower at first with speech but then the emersion in the many languages is noticed to be very helpful later on. He's probably just trying to figure out which words to use since he knows so many. I wonder if reading stories or singing silly songs with the same sounds will help him in practicing each sound.

Good luck,
: ) Maureen