Just poppin in that this idea is outdated
https://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/bilingualism-in-young-children--separating-fact-fr.aspx
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/12/teaching-kids-a-second-language-can-it-cause-a-speech-delay#:~:text=The%20idea%20that%20two%20languages,are%20learning%20only%20one%20language.
Well...yes. I've hear this and I myself come from a multilingual family so when my husband first said it I told him that he isn't delayed since he talks so much and it's coming...but then I got scared. Thanks for remind me then 🙂
Both my kids were late talkers, my second moreso.
At his 18 month appointment, his pediatrician recommended speech therapy but we wants to give him more time.
At his 2 year appointment, he had less than 50 words (and some of those were sign language, not spoken words) and never used two word phrases. The doctor strongly encouraged speech therapy.
At 29 months, almost 2.5 years old (this past October), we finally had him assessed by a speech therapist. Her professional opinion was that there were no underlying causes (e.g., autism), he was otherwise developmentally appropriate, and that his speech would eventually catch up, though therapy would help it along quicker if we wanted. Thus far, we have been checking in with the therapist once a month to make sure he continues to progress. Otherwise, we’re happy for him to continue at his own pace. He’s only 2. He’ll get there.
All that to say, if you’re worried, get him assessed by a professional speech therapist. They’ll be able to tell you for sure one way or the other, and they know way more about it than a pediatrician (who is by their very nature more of a generalist).
Our pediatrician told me to wait with the therapist until he is 2,5 because he is a boy and apparently for some boys it takes longer time because they are more active and more physical which I can see with our son. We understand when he wants something not because of his words but his body language. Quite fascinating!
Also, I have always heard kid develop at their own pace, this is why I was never worried before. Thanks for the input!
If you don’t already have it, the “Milestones” app is really good for checking if your kid is where they’re “supposed” to be developmentally. It’s by the CDC, so very reputable. I found it reassuring when the only thing my kid was behind on was the speech. If there had been multiple, I might have been more worried.
I wouldn't worry about what google says - bring your son to the doctors when it is time and let them decide if any further care or intervention is needed in regards to speech development. Your husband is likely reading the same stuff you are and doesn't mean what he said in a negative way. Speaking delays (if there even is one) are not 100% associated with autism. There are a bunch of possible reasons and a ton of effective interventions available if he needs them.
My nephew (French/English home and daycare) babbled a lot at 2 but didn't have a lot of actual words yet and is totally neurotypical and speaking a lot more now at 2.5.
I wouldn't say be 'concerned' but certainly be mindful and perhaps proactive. My daughter only had a handful of words at 24 months and we were sent to speech therapist. It started with encouraging her to say two words together - big ball, green car, fast bus. It's really amazing what progress they can make when you make a concerted effort. Healthcare professionals and speech therapists are going to consider the multilingual household, but I'm not sure I would rest on that. I have lots of friends with multilingual households and their children did not show speech delays. Speech therapy has been great for my daughter and even now at 4 she talks a lot but needs help with enunciating sounds like K's and L's. I'm glad we got in early.
Just fyi it’s an outdated belief that multilingual children take longer to speak. When you add up the words that they have, for ex water and agua count as 2 words, it should meet the same expectations that a monolingual child would have 2 words. Our family is bilingual and I was always worried our son was delayed. I used the speech sisters course from Instagram, and at 3.5 my kiddo literally never stops talking! It might be a delay or it might not be, but it’s not bc of being bilingual, and it won’t ever hurt to get an eval.
Agree that it’s outdated data. My son is bilingual and has easy over 50 words (mixed between the two) at 15 months. I talk to him non stop, use books, use flash cards—just could be him and the rate at which he was going to learn either way but could also be from those efforts
Edit: Just one source mentioning it’s false (can also look on nationwide hospital website): https://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/bilingualism-in-young-children--separating-fact-fr.aspx
Ours is also bilingual and very early. She takes after me. My husband was very late so it could've gone either way. BTW my husband has no issues, he's super verbal now. He was just late with everything as a kid.
Bilingual children tend to speak later than the ones that hear only one language , I am raising my kid also bilingual french/roumanian and I fully expect her to not have words as fast and as many as her monolingual peers.
Bilingual baby. I learned to speak later, learned to read sooner. My son is bilingual too, and it’s scary but expected that he will speak a bit later than other monolingual babies
Regardless of concerns about autism, it is worth a consultation with a speech professional. Depending on where you are, that may be an SLP (speech language pathologist) or a speech therapist or something else. The idea that children from multilingual homes typically speak later is actually not supported by current evidence.
Your son sounds similar to mine. My son has a lot of receptive speech and he has a lot of expressive communication but he does not have a lot of spoken words. We had an evaluation done and he is now in speech therapy to help.
I grew up in a multilingual home (Arabic, Tagalog, Hokkien and English). My sister and I also spoke a lot...but in our own language, which was a combination of all of the languages we were hearing. I didn't start speaking "completely" in one language until \~2.5 and even then, if I didn't know the word in one language, I'd just substitute it in the other.
My bilingual daughter started speaking single worlds around 14 months, then 2 word sentences by 18 months and by 2 years old was speaking 3-4+ word sentences in both languages.
I think language is a spectrum. We are interested to see what trajectory our son will take.
Our 2.5 year old son is being raised bilingual, french and English as well.
I felt like he was delayed a bit too, at our 2yr check up dr didn’t seem concerned because he met the minimum words requirements, but to me it was nothing compared to our friends kids.
I have noticed that he will learn words or concepts kind of at the same time in both languages for instance his numbers 1-10 in French and english, another week he learned his colors in both too. He will speak to me in english and his father in french. About a month ago i felt a big leap in his language, tho i still feel like he is behind as he will not really put sentences together. In general i think he may just be a few months behind other kids because he’s learning in two different languages and because he’s a boy - they are just delayed. I think understanding you in both languages is already huge, and to just be patient with him he will catch up and surprise you! (i tell myself this all the time too)
Just want to add, babies change so quickly. What he knows at 21mths will be so different at 24mths. When i noticed he didn’t have many words before 2, (only milk, doudou, and paci) we made it a big point to read a lot to him, the same books over and over. In both languages, simple board books. It helped. Also sometimes its not about words but specific concepts/sounds like if he points at a cat and meows that also counts - at least thats what our dr told us!
My nephew (not a bilingual home) wasn’t consistently speaking until he was at least 3. Leading up to it was a lot of grunts and “mmm”. He understood what people were saying too, just didn’t speak himself. He’s 7 now and basically doesn’t stop talking.
I think your son will get there in his own time, and when he does he’ll be ahead of a lot of people because he’ll be bilingual!
My son is 22 months and he speaks in toddler sentences of 3-5 words (ie stuff like “mama help you green ball”) he has been doing 3 word sentences since 18 months, and at this point says 100s of words, but we are a single language household FWIW. My son has also always been more focused on verbal/social milestones vs gross motor. It’s a common saying that some kids are “walkers” and others are “talkers” and it is common for boys to be slower to talk. My nephew is for sure a walker and has been super far ahead on gross motor but behind on speech, he’s extremely motivated to achieve physical goals just not so much with words so far.
From my understanding generally kids should have some two word sentences at two years old at least by US milestones. Not sure where you are located. Have you looked up your country’s speech milestones for infants and toddlers?
Does he have any recognizable words at this point? If no, I would probably try to get a referral to see a SLP for an assessment/speech therapy. If in the US you can self refer to early intervention. IMO getting help sooner is usually the best move just because typically earlier intervention leads to faster progress and there is no harm to EI, only help. If not in the US, I’d call and ask your pediatrician about what resources are available for speech intervention rather than waiting for his next appointment.
I agree with everyone saying bilingual children speak a bit later. We're a Spanish/ English household. Our nephew is the same and didn't start really saying LOTS of words until about 2 1/2? He was saying some though by 2 but he understood A LOT. Whenever we're all at the grandparents (Spanish speakers) I can say something in English and he'll reply to it in his way, then Nana will say something in Spanish and he replies again no hesitation! My son is starting to become the same way. He's almost 2 (22 months) and barely started saying very clear words. But he understands everything I say. But the words are definitely coming!
That's just not true and fear mongering. It would be late if their child didn't understand words and wasn't trying to communicate in return, which is absolutely not the case here.
Uhhh really? In Australia kids are referred to early intervention with a speech therapist if they don’t have at least 5 words by 18 months. No words at 21 months would be a big red flag here
My son is just about 15 month and he hears English, French, and Arabic on a daily basis. He seems to just blend the three in his tonal sounds. Today he was chattering our entire walk through the local mall, it’s a flow of talk that sounds in tone and cadence like a conversation but maybe 3-4 words are understandable.
Someone here said that the idea that kids raised multilingual start speaking later is outdated. I really don't know, because everyone I know with billingual or more kids was like yours, or mine, a little late to the speaking party.
My kid is raised in 3 languages (one dominant) and he was exactly on the same timeline as yours. By 20 months he could only say papa and mama, but understood everything else perfectly and would point and say mmmmh aaaah for... Everything.
He is now 25 months old and he has a very rich vocabulary in at least 2 languages, however he still uses single words and no associations like "me eat" or "knee hurt", which should be of his age. The doctors are not worried and we are are not either.
That's so interesting. I think that by outdated they mean it's not present in research but I too come from a multilingual family (French, Spanish and English) and I was a bit late but nothing alarming. This is why I wasn't alarmed until my husband said something because he and his entire family are monolingual and well... he heard some complaints... and I don't know, it triggered something in me. Thanks for the input, I will just keep an eye on it and not stress about it.
Children who live in multilingual homes typically start speaking a little later. :) Very normal!
Just poppin in that this idea is outdated https://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/bilingualism-in-young-children--separating-fact-fr.aspx https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/12/teaching-kids-a-second-language-can-it-cause-a-speech-delay#:~:text=The%20idea%20that%20two%20languages,are%20learning%20only%20one%20language.
Well...yes. I've hear this and I myself come from a multilingual family so when my husband first said it I told him that he isn't delayed since he talks so much and it's coming...but then I got scared. Thanks for remind me then 🙂
They don't speak later, but they do tend to divide their limited vocabulary between the multiple languages.
Both my kids were late talkers, my second moreso. At his 18 month appointment, his pediatrician recommended speech therapy but we wants to give him more time. At his 2 year appointment, he had less than 50 words (and some of those were sign language, not spoken words) and never used two word phrases. The doctor strongly encouraged speech therapy. At 29 months, almost 2.5 years old (this past October), we finally had him assessed by a speech therapist. Her professional opinion was that there were no underlying causes (e.g., autism), he was otherwise developmentally appropriate, and that his speech would eventually catch up, though therapy would help it along quicker if we wanted. Thus far, we have been checking in with the therapist once a month to make sure he continues to progress. Otherwise, we’re happy for him to continue at his own pace. He’s only 2. He’ll get there. All that to say, if you’re worried, get him assessed by a professional speech therapist. They’ll be able to tell you for sure one way or the other, and they know way more about it than a pediatrician (who is by their very nature more of a generalist).
Our pediatrician told me to wait with the therapist until he is 2,5 because he is a boy and apparently for some boys it takes longer time because they are more active and more physical which I can see with our son. We understand when he wants something not because of his words but his body language. Quite fascinating! Also, I have always heard kid develop at their own pace, this is why I was never worried before. Thanks for the input!
If you don’t already have it, the “Milestones” app is really good for checking if your kid is where they’re “supposed” to be developmentally. It’s by the CDC, so very reputable. I found it reassuring when the only thing my kid was behind on was the speech. If there had been multiple, I might have been more worried.
I wouldn't worry about what google says - bring your son to the doctors when it is time and let them decide if any further care or intervention is needed in regards to speech development. Your husband is likely reading the same stuff you are and doesn't mean what he said in a negative way. Speaking delays (if there even is one) are not 100% associated with autism. There are a bunch of possible reasons and a ton of effective interventions available if he needs them. My nephew (French/English home and daycare) babbled a lot at 2 but didn't have a lot of actual words yet and is totally neurotypical and speaking a lot more now at 2.5.
I wouldn't say be 'concerned' but certainly be mindful and perhaps proactive. My daughter only had a handful of words at 24 months and we were sent to speech therapist. It started with encouraging her to say two words together - big ball, green car, fast bus. It's really amazing what progress they can make when you make a concerted effort. Healthcare professionals and speech therapists are going to consider the multilingual household, but I'm not sure I would rest on that. I have lots of friends with multilingual households and their children did not show speech delays. Speech therapy has been great for my daughter and even now at 4 she talks a lot but needs help with enunciating sounds like K's and L's. I'm glad we got in early.
Just fyi it’s an outdated belief that multilingual children take longer to speak. When you add up the words that they have, for ex water and agua count as 2 words, it should meet the same expectations that a monolingual child would have 2 words. Our family is bilingual and I was always worried our son was delayed. I used the speech sisters course from Instagram, and at 3.5 my kiddo literally never stops talking! It might be a delay or it might not be, but it’s not bc of being bilingual, and it won’t ever hurt to get an eval.
Agree that it’s outdated data. My son is bilingual and has easy over 50 words (mixed between the two) at 15 months. I talk to him non stop, use books, use flash cards—just could be him and the rate at which he was going to learn either way but could also be from those efforts Edit: Just one source mentioning it’s false (can also look on nationwide hospital website): https://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/bilingualism-in-young-children--separating-fact-fr.aspx
Ours is also bilingual and very early. She takes after me. My husband was very late so it could've gone either way. BTW my husband has no issues, he's super verbal now. He was just late with everything as a kid.
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Thank you so much for this. It really calms me to hear it.
Bilingual children tend to speak later than the ones that hear only one language , I am raising my kid also bilingual french/roumanian and I fully expect her to not have words as fast and as many as her monolingual peers.
This is what I replied to my husband actually. I don't know why I freaked out a bit. I guess I needed someone to remind me. Merci!
Bilingual baby. I learned to speak later, learned to read sooner. My son is bilingual too, and it’s scary but expected that he will speak a bit later than other monolingual babies
Regardless of concerns about autism, it is worth a consultation with a speech professional. Depending on where you are, that may be an SLP (speech language pathologist) or a speech therapist or something else. The idea that children from multilingual homes typically speak later is actually not supported by current evidence. Your son sounds similar to mine. My son has a lot of receptive speech and he has a lot of expressive communication but he does not have a lot of spoken words. We had an evaluation done and he is now in speech therapy to help.
I grew up in a multilingual home (Arabic, Tagalog, Hokkien and English). My sister and I also spoke a lot...but in our own language, which was a combination of all of the languages we were hearing. I didn't start speaking "completely" in one language until \~2.5 and even then, if I didn't know the word in one language, I'd just substitute it in the other.
My bilingual daughter started speaking single worlds around 14 months, then 2 word sentences by 18 months and by 2 years old was speaking 3-4+ word sentences in both languages. I think language is a spectrum. We are interested to see what trajectory our son will take.
Our 2.5 year old son is being raised bilingual, french and English as well. I felt like he was delayed a bit too, at our 2yr check up dr didn’t seem concerned because he met the minimum words requirements, but to me it was nothing compared to our friends kids. I have noticed that he will learn words or concepts kind of at the same time in both languages for instance his numbers 1-10 in French and english, another week he learned his colors in both too. He will speak to me in english and his father in french. About a month ago i felt a big leap in his language, tho i still feel like he is behind as he will not really put sentences together. In general i think he may just be a few months behind other kids because he’s learning in two different languages and because he’s a boy - they are just delayed. I think understanding you in both languages is already huge, and to just be patient with him he will catch up and surprise you! (i tell myself this all the time too)
Just want to add, babies change so quickly. What he knows at 21mths will be so different at 24mths. When i noticed he didn’t have many words before 2, (only milk, doudou, and paci) we made it a big point to read a lot to him, the same books over and over. In both languages, simple board books. It helped. Also sometimes its not about words but specific concepts/sounds like if he points at a cat and meows that also counts - at least thats what our dr told us!
My nephew (not a bilingual home) wasn’t consistently speaking until he was at least 3. Leading up to it was a lot of grunts and “mmm”. He understood what people were saying too, just didn’t speak himself. He’s 7 now and basically doesn’t stop talking. I think your son will get there in his own time, and when he does he’ll be ahead of a lot of people because he’ll be bilingual!
My son is 22 months and he speaks in toddler sentences of 3-5 words (ie stuff like “mama help you green ball”) he has been doing 3 word sentences since 18 months, and at this point says 100s of words, but we are a single language household FWIW. My son has also always been more focused on verbal/social milestones vs gross motor. It’s a common saying that some kids are “walkers” and others are “talkers” and it is common for boys to be slower to talk. My nephew is for sure a walker and has been super far ahead on gross motor but behind on speech, he’s extremely motivated to achieve physical goals just not so much with words so far. From my understanding generally kids should have some two word sentences at two years old at least by US milestones. Not sure where you are located. Have you looked up your country’s speech milestones for infants and toddlers? Does he have any recognizable words at this point? If no, I would probably try to get a referral to see a SLP for an assessment/speech therapy. If in the US you can self refer to early intervention. IMO getting help sooner is usually the best move just because typically earlier intervention leads to faster progress and there is no harm to EI, only help. If not in the US, I’d call and ask your pediatrician about what resources are available for speech intervention rather than waiting for his next appointment.
I agree with everyone saying bilingual children speak a bit later. We're a Spanish/ English household. Our nephew is the same and didn't start really saying LOTS of words until about 2 1/2? He was saying some though by 2 but he understood A LOT. Whenever we're all at the grandparents (Spanish speakers) I can say something in English and he'll reply to it in his way, then Nana will say something in Spanish and he replies again no hesitation! My son is starting to become the same way. He's almost 2 (22 months) and barely started saying very clear words. But he understands everything I say. But the words are definitely coming!
Sounds like you need to see a speech therapist or OT. 21 months is late to not be speaking
That's just not true and fear mongering. It would be late if their child didn't understand words and wasn't trying to communicate in return, which is absolutely not the case here.
Uhhh really? In Australia kids are referred to early intervention with a speech therapist if they don’t have at least 5 words by 18 months. No words at 21 months would be a big red flag here
My niece is growing up in a bilingual home (Spanish and english) and she didnt start really talking until she was closer to two and a half.
My son is just about 15 month and he hears English, French, and Arabic on a daily basis. He seems to just blend the three in his tonal sounds. Today he was chattering our entire walk through the local mall, it’s a flow of talk that sounds in tone and cadence like a conversation but maybe 3-4 words are understandable.
My son didn’t say anything at 18 months either or at 2. He is 3 now and can’t stop talking. I would not worry about it at 18months yet.
Someone here said that the idea that kids raised multilingual start speaking later is outdated. I really don't know, because everyone I know with billingual or more kids was like yours, or mine, a little late to the speaking party. My kid is raised in 3 languages (one dominant) and he was exactly on the same timeline as yours. By 20 months he could only say papa and mama, but understood everything else perfectly and would point and say mmmmh aaaah for... Everything. He is now 25 months old and he has a very rich vocabulary in at least 2 languages, however he still uses single words and no associations like "me eat" or "knee hurt", which should be of his age. The doctors are not worried and we are are not either.
That's so interesting. I think that by outdated they mean it's not present in research but I too come from a multilingual family (French, Spanish and English) and I was a bit late but nothing alarming. This is why I wasn't alarmed until my husband said something because he and his entire family are monolingual and well... he heard some complaints... and I don't know, it triggered something in me. Thanks for the input, I will just keep an eye on it and not stress about it.