How do I know if my bilingual child has a language delay?

When a child is learning two or more languages, it is common to wonder if this might delay language development. Here is what we know about children who are learning multiple languages:

-they learn language at the same rate as monolingual peers, but distribute language skills across two (or more) languages

Sometimes this can be confusing because it might seem like your child only has a few words when in reality they have just spread their words across two languages.

Do: count words across languages 

Don’t: Stop speaking the home/family/heritage language(s)

Here is an example of how to count words in an English/Spanish speaking child:

English: water, no, ball, up, uh oh, go, mama, hi, bye bye, yeah (10)

Spanish: agua, no, vaca, ya, gato, mas, papa, hola, si, ayuda, gracias (11)

10 + 11 = 22 words!  Even the same word translated counts twice! (agua/water, hi/hola, no/no)

Here are some signs your child may have a language delay:

-they are not using very many words when you count all words in all languages

-they are not making many sounds

-they are not using gestures

-they seem to be having trouble learning new words or understanding in BOTH languages.

If a family speaks only Mandarin at home, the child may not have as many words in English. That is okay. One language can be stronger than another and this may change over time.

Written by Laura Donart, CCC-SLP