I have a quiet son.  Ever since he turned 1.5 years, I have been concerned with him reaching his language “milestones” and speaking in general.  It seemed that up till a few weeks ago all he could do was make animal-like sounds to protest, gain attention, and point out things.  He could sound out more “words” when he was a year old than he could now (at 22 months), and I wondered if he had forgotten the words, if they just didn’t register as “words” to him, or if he’s just extremely confused with all the languages we have at home and that he’s been exposed to with his grandparents.

To explain, my husband and I decided that we would share the language teaching responsibility with me focusing on English (since it’s my native language), and him focusing on Mandarin (since it’s his native language).  We speak both languages at home, and my Mandarin isn’t too shabby, but I do have an accent and my vocabulary is rather limited. A good example is how a friend had bought our son a cricket last night after dinner, and I put the little straw cage in my son’s hand and said “cricket”. Then, my husband asked me to teach him the Chinese equivalent, and all I could think of was the Disney version of Mulan and how I’m pretty sure there is a word for Cricket, but what was it again? Didn’t it have a pinyin-like name? If you wondered, it turns out they’re called guo guo (which he proceeded to confuse us with by teaching a dialect version, qu qu). This is exactly why Trish Hull from Beijing LIH Olivia’s Place Pediatric Clinic does not recommend teaching your child a language that is not your native tongue. You’re just not that good at it.

At the MOPS talk, Hull also dispelled the myth that bilingual or multi-lingual children acquire language at a slower pace than mono-lingual children–a belief I’ve always been dubious about given how how I had acquired three languages by age three.  The dispelling of this myth did mean that I no longer had a valid excuse for my son’s grunts and yelps.  Luckily, the talk did end with ways parents and caretakers can assist children in better developing language.

Takeaways on bilingualism or multilingualism:

• Multi-lingual children do not normally experience language development delays. You’re supposed to add up the words from each language to total the number of words a monolingual child can say.So, in my son’s case, by age 2 he should be able to say 50 words, but he might only be able to say 10 words in English and 40 words in Mandarin (let’s face it, Mandarin words are shorter and thus easier to learn).
• Children don’t just “pick up” a second or third language through immersion, but they have to be taught with interactive in-person methods, e.g. a play teacher rather than a television show.
• Mixing languages in one sentence or phrase is completely normal for bilingual and multi-lingual children.
  
  I can attest that it’s probably not something you “grow out of”.
• Bilingualism does not automatically mean “native proficiency” in both languages.
  
  I have been called trilingual since I was a child, but since I only “studied” two languages in school, the third language (Mandarin) remains at a pretty low level. Of course with practice, my accent has been reduced, I’ve learned more idioms, and I’ve improved my vocabulary, but it’s still not at the same proficiency level as my English and Finnish.
• The one parent, one language method (which is basically what we are trying to do) is not the only, or necessarily the best, method to teach your child many languages.  In the end, it’s more important that parents talk to children in a natural way and feel comfortable conversing with their kids.
• Families who live in a third culture should not worry about speaking the “majority language” at home to train their children.In California, for example, I have many American born Chinese (ABC) friends with parents from Taiwan who try very hard to keep the “home language” English, even though English is a second, or even third language for them.  In the end, studies show that your child benefits more from your native language, and will learn the majority language at school regardless. I, for example, took up Finnish almost completely at school (well, I had my grandparents) since my dad spoke English to me.

Once we had established that bilingualism and multi-lingualism does not cause language delays, we learned about simple tips and tricks for parents and caretakers (including your ayi) can help your child’s language development:

1. Talk to your kid–a lot! Interact with him and explain what you’re doing while you’re doing it!
2. Sing nursery rhymes and simple songs as the repeating words and rhythm and rhyme help with language learning.
3. Follow your child’s lead and mimick his language rather than trying to enforce your own.
4. Read books aloud, even if he only lets you read two pages!
5. Teach new words by pointing things out, reading signs aloud, etc.
6. Aim language at your child’s level (don’t forget to increase the level as he grows!)
7. Speak naturally.
8. Have daily routines in place and teach the words for them.
9. Be an “in tune parent” (more on this later).
10. Learn your child’s communication style (and your own) to better understand how to communicate with him (more on this later).

If you have concerns that your child is not meeting his or her language milestones, trust your gut feeling and seek out a speech therapist.  Olivia’s Place (previously called Elliot’s Corner) provide pediatric therapeutic services and educational outreach. They often host workshops and presentations for parents raising children with developmental challenges.

For me, our son returned from his grandparents with an arsenal of sign language commands that took me days to decipher. Luckily, he’s been picking up the spoken equivalent, especially in Chinese, now that he’s not confused by the various dialects he was exposed to from my husband’s family (Chengdu/Sichua/Chongqing dialect…).  He can now say at least 20 Mandarin words, and he understands when I confirm what he wants in English (he can now say “yea” and “no”).  It’s been such a relief for us since good communication means he’s a lot less frustrated, we are a lot less confused by what he wants, and it’s a lot easier to teach him new words and concepts when he’s able to communicate that he doesn’t know or understand what we’re saying (he asks “A-ah?!”)

MOPS is a faith-based community group for moms of preschool aged children, hosting international (English language) meetings twice a month, a bilingual English-Chinese group meeting once a month, and Chinese group meetings once a month.  The meetings often have speakers give talks/presentations or host workshops, followed by a discussion session in small groups, and often end with arts and crafts.  MOPS events have childcare available with RSVP and a small fee (RMB 20).

 Photos: courtesy of Olivia’s Place

This year House of Knowledge has added a resident speech therapist to their staff. Originally from Germany, Sophie Horn speaks German, English, and Dutch. Horn offers consultations in English and German, from Monday to Friday, at both HoK campuses, and is available to work with students, adults and families from HoK, as well as the general public. In addition to conducting private speech therapy, Horn spends several hours per week in the classroom working with our children and teachers. Horn also holds regular workshops and seminars for parents, caregivers and educators.

How did you become interested in speech therapy?
I always wanted to help people, especially children. I chose a therapeutic setting because I wanted to be able to help people face-to-face. It’s been the perfect choice.

What does a speech therapist do?
We deal with all sorts of speech and language related problems: forming sounds properly, word finding difficulties, stuttering, children with hearing difficulties, grammar issues, children who can’t move their facial muscles properly, and also adults who are suffering from brain injuries after strokes or other injuries which cause them to experience language problems. Stuttering is common across languages, and for German, it’s very typical to form the “s” sound incorrectly.

How long does speech therapy take?
I usually recommend a program of ten sessions once a week, so all in all around three months on average. Some problems are harder to address and may take longer.

How do you screen or assess a child?
The first screening is about getting to know the child and assessing their spontaneous speech. While playing a game or looking at pictures I will pay attention to the different aspects of speech (sounds, words, grammar) and get a first impression what the child’s specific problem is. Then I can administer standardized tests to confirm my suspicions.

Do children ever grow out of speech problems?
Some children grow out of some problems, maybe – for example stuttering. Many children start to stutter at a certain point in life, usually when they start using longer sentences. For most of them the problem resolves itself after a few weeks. If it persists, diagnosis and treatment is recommended.

When should parents tackle speech problems?
Parents should tackle speech problems as soon as they think their child has a problem. Along with consulting their family doctor, they should also talk to the child’s Kindergarten teacher. However the best time to begin a medical or therapeutic intervention differs from difficulty to difficulty: You can start therapy for hearing difficulties with a Cochlear Implant (hearing aid for the inner ear) at six months, but we don’t address a malformed German “sch” sound until five years of age.

How can parents support their children during speech therapy?
I get the parents involved through homework. For some therapies it is necessary to practice every day. It’s best not to pressure the child by training every free minute. Just make a routine and take five minutes per day, for example before brushing teeth, to go over the exercises.

Does speech impairment cause other difficulties in school?
Children are usually very tolerant toward each other and their communication skills are sometimes much better than those of adults. If the child is hard to understand they might become lost in a group. And children who have language impairment pre-school, are more likely to have difficulties with learning how to read and write in school.

How do you work with deaf children?
I usually work with children that have been fitted with a hearing aid. As soon as they are able to hear their first sounds, I start work with them. For example I play with a toy the child is interested in, and when they use their voice to signal they want it, they get the toy. This way the child learns that their voice has meaning. They need frequent reinforcement, so I comment on everything they do.

How can people outside the school avail of your services?
People outside school can contact me at sophie.horn@hokschools.com. Once they have a doctor’s referral we can make an appointment and start therapy. The costs are generally covered by the parent at the time of treatment and reimbursable through your health insurance.

Photos courtesy of House of Knowledge

News arrived in my inbox that Shanghai-based therapy center Olivia’s Place has very recently opened a Beijing branch called Eliott’s Corner.They will offer occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and educational psychology to both local and expatriate children.

This is great news for families with children who need expert pediatric therapy services. Until now, therapy services have been sparse and limited to Beijing’s larger hospitals and Care for Children (Beijing’s only dedicated special needs school). The arrival of Eliott’s Corner means that families have more care options, which is always a good thing.

And good news for downtowners: Eliott’s Corner is located in Liangma Qiao.

What I find interesting is that Olivia’s Place (and hopefully by extension Eliott’s Corner) seem to have a focus on affordable, accessible care. For parents of children with "significant therapy needs" who are unable to pay the cost of their child’s therapy, the Olivia’s Place Foundation can step in to cover some of the costs.  

I hope to find out more from Eliott’s Corner founder Jacqueline Chen later this week. Stay tuned for more details!