Bilingualism and Children with Disabilities

1. Bilingualism and Children with Disabilities

2. Learning Objectives • The importance of bilingualism • Misconceptions about bilingualism • Parent influence on bilingual reinforcement • Advantages of bilingualism in children with disabilities • Tips for EI providers when working with bilingual families

3. What is Bilingualism? • Bilingualism is defined as being fluent in two different languages • Children who are raised to be bilingual are often exposed to two languages at once, examples include: • Two parents--each speak a different language • Two parents--both bilingual • One language is spoken at home and one language is spoken at school

4. The Importance of Bilingualism • Promoting native language use in the home can: • Strengthen parent-child relationships • Maintain the child’s connection to their parent’s culture • Allow the child to have relationships with family members who only speak the native language Have you ever worked with a family whose culture or language was different from your own? How did this change the way you provided services? Think about it...

5. Misconceptions of Bilingualism Common thoughts about teaching a child a second language: • “Won’t that confuse the child?” • “Won’t that be overwhelming for the child?” • “Does the child have the capacity to learn a second language?”

6. Myth or Fact Activity The next few slides contain 3 statements about bilingualism in a typically developing child. Discuss with others and decide whether you think the statement is a Myth or a Fact.

7. Bilingual children start to speak later than monolingual children. Myth or Fact?

8. That is a myth. There is no evidence that supports this. Bilinguals and monolinguals share the same expected time frame for typical development.

9. Bilinguals start out school behind monolinguals and never catch up. Myth or Fact?

10. That is a myth. In fact, bilingual children tend to develop at a faster rate than monolingual children.

11. Children have an easier time learning a second language than adults. Myth or Fact?

12. That is a fact. However, learning a language is still difficult so parents and educators should not expect them to learn a new language perfectly from the start.

13. Myth or Fact Activity The next few slides contain 3 statements about bilingualism in a child with a disability. Discuss with others and decide whether you think the statement is a Myth or a Fact.

14. Learning two languages is too difficult and will confuse a child who has a cognitive or developmental disability. Myth or Fact?

15. That is a myth. Research in children with a Specific Language Impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Down syndrome has shown that learning a second language is not too difficult for a child with a disability.

16. If a child has a Specific Language Impairment, it will be present in both languages. Myth or Fact?

17. That is a fact. If a child has a Specific Language Impairment it will show in both languages, but that does notmean that bilingualism caused the impairment.

18. A bilingual child with autism will have more delays than their monolingual peer with autism. Myth or Fact?

19. That is a myth. Research has found that bilingual children with a disability will not have any extra delays or disadvantages compared to their monolingual peer with the same disability. Valicenti-McDermott, M., Tarshis, N., Schouls, M., Galdston, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., . . . Shinnar, S. (2013)

20. Video: “Can children with special needs be bilingual?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhWg0YeIMs

21. Bilingual Milestones • Bilingual children should reach the same milestones at the same age as their monolingual peers • It is important to understand that a bilingual child has two different sets of vocabulary • They may respond in their familial language to a question asked in English

22. Video: Brain Responses in Monolingual vs. Bilingual Infants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Gn_ImK4_Y

23. Advantages of Bilingualism in Children with Disabilities • Earlier use of communicative gestures in children is correlated to earlier use of language • In one study, 50% of bilingual children with autism communicated using gestures, compared to only 25% of monolingual children with autism • Bilingual children were able to gesture communicatively to point caregivers to an object at an earlier age than monolinguals • Where socialization and communication may be a point of worry for parents of children with disabilities, bilingualism can actually enhance sociability

24. Gesturing and American Sign Language • ASL is often used to help facilitate communication in young children with disabilities before verbal language is acquired regardless of hearing impairments

26. Video: “The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmOLN5zBLY

27. Parent Influence on Bilingual Reinforcement • Parents can have a great influence on their child’s language learning • Some ideas for parents to use to reinforce language learning include: • Speaking one language on first floor of the home and speaking the second language on the second floor • Create flashcards with both language’s vocabulary on each side of the card • Try using different vocabulary in the native language that is not specific to home life • Children learn vocabulary specific to their immediate environment

28. Research Evidence • One study compared expressive and receptive language skills in monolingual English and bilingual English-Spanish children with autism • The findings of this study included: • Compared to monolinguals, bilinguals used more gestures and vocalized more and had no differences in language skills • Conclusion: Bilingualism does not negatively affect language development in young children with autism

29. Research Evidence • Another study consisted of about 30 groups (mother, father, child ages 22-24 months) from China, France, and Canada • Longitudinal study • Monolingual & Bilingual families • One parent spoke exclusively one language, second parent spoke other family language • Second testing, at 46-48 months Cognitive consequences of raising children bilingually: One parent, one language. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie

30. Research Evidence • Results: • No significant difference between monolingual and bilingual children in learning language • Bilingual children showed mastery in both languages! Cognitive consequences of raising children bilingually: One parent, one language. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie

31. Research Evidence • Lastly, there was a study done regarding children with Down syndrome learning two languages • This study found that all of the children with Down syndrome were developing functional second language skills • Professionals should work with families to support bilingualism in children with Down syndrome

32. Tips for EI Providers Working With Bilingual Families • Be sensitive to the family’s culture • Be aware of language barriers and be ready to clear up points of confusion to the child • Speak to child in your fluent language, recruit help from others in child’s second language if needed • Do not discourage bilingualism in families with a child with disabilities!

33. Discussion Questions • What kind of activities could you develop to use when delivering services to a child learning two languages? • What are some important things to keep in mind when working with bilingual families? • How can you encourage parents/teachers to reinforce learning two languages with their child/student? • How should you approach a parent who does not think their child with a disability should be learning more than one language? What can you say to encourage them to consider it?

34. Additional Resources • https://www.jennysspeech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Bilingualism-In-Children-With-Special-Needs1.pdf • http://growingupbilingual.com/2013/education/10-articles-studies-supporting-bilingualism-in-children-with-disabilities/ • https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201701/supporting-bilingual-children-special-education-needs • http://blog.bilingualtherapies.com/background-knowledge/bilingualism-and-children-with-language-andor-cognitive-disabilities/

35. References • Valicenti-McDermott, M., Tarshis, N., Schouls, M., Galdston, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., . . . Shinnar, S. (2013). Language differences between monolingual English and bilingual English- Spanish young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Neurology, 28(7), 945-948. • Bain, B., & Yu, A. (1980). Cognitive consequences of raising children bilingually: One parent, one language. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie,34(4), 304-313. • Almeida, L. D., Ferré, S., Morin, E., Prévost, P., Santos, C. D., Tuller, L., Zebib, Racha., Barthez, M. (2017). Identification of bilingual children with Specific Language Impairment in France. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism Language Impairment in Bilingual Children,7(3-4), 331-358. • Feltmate, K., & Kay-Raining Bird, E. (2008). Language Learning in Four Bilingual Children with Down Syndrome: A Detailed Analysis of Vocabulary and Morphosyntax. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 32, 6 – 20. • Korkman, M., Stenroos, M., Mickos, A., Westman, M., Ekholm, P., & Byring, R. (2012). Does simultaneous bilingualism aggravate children’s specific language problems? Acta Paediatrica,101(9), 946-952.