Bilingual Speech and Language Services

Our bilingual speech and language pathologists specialize in the assessment and treatment of monolingual and bilingual Spanish/English speakers. Our bi-lingual evaluations are used to prevent misidentification of students with disabilities by considering the complexity of bilingual learning and development.

Does learning 2 or more languages cause a language disorder?

Learning two or more languages as a child does not cause speech and language disorders. What learning multiple languages as a child can influence is the way that each language is learned. For example, As a child learns his or her languages, some normal aspects of bilingual language acquisition may stand out to you (see below for information), leading you to believe your child may have a disorder when in actuality this is a normal characteristic of bilingual language learning. Conversely, there are times when speech and language issues in bilingual children are excused as normal when speech therapy is actually needed.  This is why it is important to seek the input of a speech language pathologist that specializes in bilingual language development.

Normal Characteristics of Bilingual Language Acquisition

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), recognizes the following normal characteristics of learning multiple languages:

• If two languages are being learned simultaneously, errors may go back and forth between the two languages. This is because your child’s first language may influence how they speak or say sounds in other languages. 
• Silence while the secondary language is being spoken by others. Your child is listening to the language to learn it, and can probably understand the language better than they can speak it.
• Switching between languages over sentences.
• Loss of proficiency in their first language if they stop using it.

Understanding When to Reach out to an SLP

Some language and learning difficulties may be harder to spot in bilingual children because it is assumed that the difficulty is attributed to learning new languages. If you suspect that your child has a speech or language issue, you should take them to a speech pathologist for assessment.

Here are some ways to spot some of the more common speech and language issues that can be either overlooked or misdiagnosed in bilingual children:

Stuttering

According to The Stuttering Foundation, no data suggests that bilingualism affects stuttering. Stuttering often affects one language more prominently than the other, and your child may stutter in different ways in each language. Sometimes though, what may be suspected as stuttering could just be lack of proficiency in the “weaker” language.

You may notice stuttering in your bilingual child when he or she is having trouble finding the right word, using both languages in the same sentence (normal in bilingual language development), or while speaking in more complex sentences. These can all increase stuttering in a child who stutters.

If you notice the signs of stuttering in your child, follow The Stuttering Foundation’s prevention guidelines and pay attention to when it happens, especially in your child’s strongest language. Remember to:

• Speak to your child in one language at a time
• Allow your child to mix vocabulary between languages but respond by using the same word in the language being used
• If six months go by and stuttering is still apparent, make an appointment with a speech pathologist

Silence

While some bilingual children are quiet because they are trying to learn a language, silence can also be caused by anxiety that prevents them from speaking in certain situations (selective mutism). Bilingualism doesn’t cause selective mutism, but the anxieties a child already has about speaking can be triggered when speaking a language they are less comfortable with. This can affect the child’s first language as well.

Detecting selective mutism in your bilingual child can be tricky because many bilingual children go through a “silent period” when learning their second language. According to ASHA, selective mutism is signified by a child not speaking in certain situations for over a month, even though they have the language skills needed to speak. If your child meets ASHA’s criteria, you should have them evaluated.

Incorrect Speech

A speech impairment may not impact both languages the same because languages are structured differently. Any speech impairment that a child has occurs across all languages spoken, but different languages use different sounds at different times.

If your child is having difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, consult a speech pathologist.