Parenting and Kids

Raising bilingual kids with special needs

VOXXI Blogs Tuesday, January 3, 2012. 135 days ago ¦ 33 comments
Eliana Tardio >>
Eliana Tardío Hurtado is the mom of two children, Emir and Ayelén, both with Down Syndrome. She is Family Resource Specialist for the Florida State program of Early Intervention for children with special needs. Eliana is also a published author and an advocate for Latino children with special needs and their parents. www.redsocialelianatardio.com

As an immigrant in this country, improving my English was what I needed to do to raise bilingual children.

Several times I have been recommended to only speak English at home, specially because my kids have Down´s syndrome and many professionals think that exposing them to two languages makes it harder, but it is my experience that the more exposed they are to different challenges and forms of education, the more they are able to learn.

Some therapists would not take your child with special needs in for a therapy session, if you don’t swear by God that you only speak English at home, but that’s not a third party decision. This is your decision as a parent and if you want to raise bilingual children with special needs, go for it! Because they really can do it!

Sign language has been a great aid for my children to build the bridge between English and Spanish. The two of them understand Spanish. Ayelen, my daughter, is better at using words in Spanish, but Emir, my son, can really make it work when he wants something that he would not get if he didn´t use the word in Spanish. His favorite word in Spanish is  “pancito”, the typical snack from my country along with cheese or butter.

Ayelen is a smart girl, and all her words easily translate to the most convenient language for her, depending on the situation. She can come to me asking for an ice cream. If I say no, she runs to daddy asking him for “su heladito” and if she’s not home and people don’t understand what she wants, she will make the sign for “ice cream” pretending her little index finger is a popsicle.

Ayelén, Eliana´s daughter / Photo: Eliana Tardió

Can children with special needs really become bilingual?

Of course they can! It takes time, like everything else, but they can do it and it’s great to watch them learn, associate words, and go through everything any child would in the process of becoming bilingual: they mix words, they have a strong “gringo accent” when they speak Spanish and they laugh when something sounds funny, but it’s really worth making it happen, believing in them and enjoying the process.

People ask me all the time if I think my kids are going to be fluent in Spanish in the future.

Yes, I am sure it will happen, because we only speak Spanish at home and I want them to go back to my country and have the feeling that they belong there also.

It is true that their language skills are somewhat delayed compared to other kids who speak only English, but I am looking to the future, and I know from experience that an extra language is the key to a more opportunities

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  • http://enlosangeles.about.com/ Cristina

    Absolutely, I couldn’t agree with you more. I only speak Spanish with my daughter, is the only way she can learn my language correctly. Emir and Ayelen are going to be fluent in Spanish, sooner than you think! Hugs!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      Thank you Cristina, I am sure they will :)

  • Rosalia Wyrostek

    Eliana, It is totally true, Mercedes (22 months old) She understand me when i said “Limpiate la boca” …..first it was incredible she did it with her bib cleaning her lips and second I was doing the orden in spanish……another experience was when she said cuatro hahaha trying to count her duckies in the bathtub……I really believe they can be bilingual. Besos.

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      I know, it is so exciting when their first words come in english as well as spanish :) they are super cute!

  • http://www.MommyMaestra.com Monica

    A great article! I had never thought about this, but I am so glad you wrote it because perhaps I would have thought it might be more difficult for children with special needs to learn more than one language. This is so encouraging for others. I can’t wait to share it. Thank you!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thanks for the comment Monica!

  • http://www.facebook.com/analomba analomba

    It’s too bad that bilingual parents keep receiving the same well-intended but ill advise from professionals who do not know much about bilingualism and special education. I myself received the same recommendation for my older daughter at age 2 1/2 (this was 11 years ago) just because she didn’t have enough vocabulary in English at the time (this shows how much the early intervention services knew about early bilingualism!). Today she is a bright bilingual 8th grader with mostly A’s in school (thank goodness we refused to follow the recommendation!). BTW, our youngest daughter is a special child with severe cognitive and motor issues (at age 9, she doesn’t speak, eats through a feeding tube, uses a wheelchair, etc). This hasn’t changed our determination to bring up our 3 kids bilingually either. Best wishes!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      Thanks a lot your comment Ana Lomba, what a great story! Best wishes for you too!

  • http://voxxi.com/2011/12/11/diary-of-a-teacher-mom/ Eileen Carter-Campos

    Eliana,

    Yet another fabulous, positive view and what special needs children CAN achieve! I LOVE IT!!!! As I read it, I felt bad. Why? Well because here I am NOT teaching my children spanish. My mother is Puerto Rican, and well we learned because Abuelita did not know any english and I wanted to communicate with her so I picked it up. My dad was American and we did speak only english at home, although my mom did throw spanish in here and there. I loved learning, but always got a bit confused with my tenses. Point being when I met my Dominican husband, I loved the way he spoke spanish and quickly became a bit insecure about the way I spoke. He would never put the way I spoke down but I always felt like I said things in an awkward way. Therefore, I never taught my children spanish because I DID NOT want them to learn the “wrong” way. I often tell my husband to speak spanish and I will do the english…pero hay dios! Anyway, now I hear my son sometimes say, “I don’t want to learn spanish”…that saddens me. I only hope that his views change. Although I don’t think I can speak it well….me puedo defender ;) y poco a poco me pongo major…I think :)

    Hugs sweets and thank u!!!!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      aww, don´t feel bad! you still have time and it happens to all of us. The worst thing is to let fear take over your dreams. I am sure you can still make it work , it is never late :) and you can always talk to me in spanish, I will let you correct my english accent so you feel better, jajaj

  • http://spanglishbaby.com Ana L. Flores

    What a great post, Eliana! Thanks so much for sharing this with us and for the encouragement that a mom´s intuition about what´s best for our children is always right.
    There are so many myths regarding bilingual children and I´m glad to see you personal dispelling one of them.

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thank you for the support And, it’s much appreciated!

  • Laura Espinoza

    I loved this commentary I have three kids one is 13 who is fluent, he is being raiced here but he was born in Costa Rica. My second is 5 years old with Autism and he has being intervine with therapy since 2 on expose to english and I can say he understands both languages English and spanish. It is being a slow process but some time he says to me “mama mira el pajarito” or I like la “LALIPOSA” (Mariposa), it is really funny. My 3er is 15 months old and now is starting with “vamonos”. At home we give them our languaje but the outside worl will be in charge to inmerge the into English, so I encourage to all parents with special need children to don’t give up!!!!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      you are doing an amazing job Laura! keep up with the hard work!

  • http://www.BossDDS.com chris boss

    my kids are older, but surprisingly they have used their new iPads to independently start learning Spanish (11 yo) and German (14 yo)
    They are amazing tools and the younger kids will do so much with them,
    And my kids have had other opportunities to learn these languages, but for them the iPad goes where they want to. just FYI. Give your kids exposure to everything you can,.

  • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

    Thanks a lot Chris! I am with you, everything is an opportunity to learn and kids learn in different ways :) have a great day!

  • http://www.naturalmentemama.com/ Maybelline @ Naturalmente Mamá

    Read you it’s always a pleasure! I learn so much from you!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thank you Maybelline :)

  • http://www.comiendoenla.com Comiendo en LA

    Totalmente de acuerdo! Si no practican el español en casa contigo, no lo van hacer en ningún otro lugar. El inglés lo oyen en todas partes, pero tu idioma sólo en casa.

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      asi es amiga, el espanol se aprende en casa con el dia a dia! feliz dia!

  • http://www.nibblesandfeasts.com Ericka Sanchez (@NibblesNFeasts)

    Of course they can learn both!! So glad you posted this. Some parents are afraid to instill both languages thinking thew will overwhelm the child. Thank you!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thank you Ericka and yes, it is very important to understand that being bilingual gives your child the double of opportunities in life.

  • http://lovetripsbook.com Sujeiry

    I had no idea they recommended this but so glad to hear you are teaching your children both languages! I believe it’s important for Latinos children to be bilingual no matter what.

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      yes it is :)

  • Noelia Pena

    it’s amazing the things a mother knows by instinct. I might not know more than a Dr. About my son’s genetic makeup, or more than my therapists about their line of duty, but if It’s about my son, Khai, I know what he is capable of and nobody knows more than me. I have exposed him to english, Spanish and Asl and at 19 months he is doing phenomenally well. He are well on our way to becoming

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      Excelent Noelia! good for you! and you are right , noboby know more about your child than you, you are your child´s specialist! thanks for your comment!

  • http://evasmith.wordpress.com Eva Smith of Tech.Food.Life.

    Children are able to learn multiple languages at an early age. As they get older it is harder for them to learn. You know what’s best for your children.

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thanks for your comment Eva!

  • http://www.saboracajeta.com/ lisarenata

    Eliana I love this post! I agree with you and think teaching a child (with down syndrome or not) multiple languages is a benefit to them. Glad to know you have stuck to your guts. Good for you and your little ones!

    • http://www.elianatardio.com Eliana Tardio

      thank you Lisa! I know they can do it! have a great week!

  • http://thewiselatinaclub.com Viviana Hurtado/The Wise Latina Club

    A mom fighting for what she feels and knows is right for her kids is so inspirational. Of course special needs children can learn two languages at once and probably do a host of things “experts” would caution against, to not say vehemently oppose. If anything this possibility shines a light on how small-minded conventional wisdom–and those who uphold it–are.

  • http://multilingualmania.com Melanie

    It’s great that you are blogging about this because it’s a pervasive myth that is believed by far to many people that special needs children can’t become bilingual.

  • Lore

    I have read that in Malta special needs kids speak both Maltese and English…more examples of bilingual abilities..