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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 475276" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Malika, we went into this a lot because of difficult child 3, and also because of a young boy, a neighbour, who had problems.</p><p></p><p>With difficult child 3, he had language delay although the speech pathologist happened to observe some old video we had (thanks to the TV interview a year ago, they took our videos and turned them into DVD for us) and she said he had language, I just wasn't recognising it. But it was slow to develop further, and some concepts (such as how or why) he just did not understand at age 5. he could manage who, and what, barely manage how, but not the rest. We were told to not let him learn a second language. However, ti is compulsory here in Grade 7 but at that point I managed to get his work modified to include only one extra language and not three.</p><p></p><p>I remember reading that the part of the brain we use for our primary language, is a different part of the brain we use for subsequent languages. Everything from there gets referenced back. With difficult child 3, it was as if his first language was the written word. Once he learned to read a word he was able to use it and understand it.</p><p></p><p>Malika, your son's English sounds like French word order. "Let fall" sounds like literal translation of "laisse tombe". And other things you listed. But the masculine/feminine is a concern because he should be picking that up really fast, if French functionally is his first language. Especially if he uses it at school every day. </p><p></p><p>Yes, multiple languages can slow apparent language development, but only apparently. And the delay is usually younger, not at age 6. It is possible that learning that bit of Arabic recently may have slowed things down or even caused a regression briefly. But I do see the concern.</p><p></p><p>The kid over the road who had problems - he was being raised to be bilingual, like his older sister. The parents were bilingual (Spanish-English). We don't have many Spanish speakers in Australia so the only Spanish they had was in the home.</p><p>When the boy was not quite three years old, he had a bad accident which left him brain-damaged. The doctors at first thought he was in a permanent vegetative state because he didn't respond to them. But his dad insisted that the boy would respond when he came into the room. The doctor would hold up a finger and say, "Follow my finger," and the boy would not respond. Then the dad would do it in Spanish and the boy would respond. What had them confused - the boy had been fluent in English before, but the accident had lost the English.</p><p></p><p>He was not expected to survive at first, but he eventually came home. I remember his parents throwing a party, it was 10 pm and the boy was tired and whiny. No language output any more, none at all. Just noises. He was sat in a high chair and I sat with him while his mother went to set up his bed for him. He continued to whine so I took his hand and counted his fingers. He continued to whine so I switched to Spanish (numbers are pretty much the only Spanish I know, other than the words to "La Bamba"). Suddenly he stopped whining and focussed on his hand and my fingers. He had recognised the Spanish, not just the language but the words (even with my atrocious pronunciation).</p><p></p><p>Over the next year he learned to understand instructions in English. They moved away when he was about 5 years old, we stayed in touch for a few years but have lost contact. the last we heard he was about 10 years old, still non-verbal but using a computer to communicate. He was back to being bilingual, however, in the language he was using on the computer.</p><p></p><p>His sister never had any problems with language delay in either Spanish or English.</p><p></p><p>Malika, I agree with the others, it does sound like his main language is French. Let him use all his languages, but perhaps give him some remedial support. For example, with his French nouns, label things around the house. Label in French and English but also give the gender. Add Arabic if you want. For example, "la porte" plus "the door"; "la table" plus "the table". This is what I did with difficult child 3 to deal with his real language delay which was coupled with his preference for the written word. We used the written word obsession to help him learn meaning and pronunciation.</p><p>I also did this with the other kids when they were learning to read - I labeled everything around the house. I also wrote stories for the kids and we read them together. Kids love stories about themselves and especially when they were little, I would get old photo albums (the sort with those sticky overlay pages) and put photos plus story into the albums. That way they could turn the pages easily without ruining them. The sort of story you write - "My name is... I live at... My favourite food is... I am special because I can speak three languages. Here is how I would say this in my other languages..." Include photos of him doing his favourite things, perhaps a photo of your house. And if you move, change it to a photo of your new house. Maybe write a story about the trip to Morocco and the fun he had with his cousins. Set this up like a Rosetta Stone for him, with all three languages side by side. This will teach him sentence flow in all three languages.</p><p></p><p>How this will then work for him, will tell you if the problem is simply too much trying to happen in his brain, or if there is something else. I know you've been told he does not meet criteria for autism in any way, but I am still not convinced. However, if I am wrong, then this strategy I suggest should remedy the problem. And if I am right, then it will still be a good benefit.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 475276, member: 1991"] Malika, we went into this a lot because of difficult child 3, and also because of a young boy, a neighbour, who had problems. With difficult child 3, he had language delay although the speech pathologist happened to observe some old video we had (thanks to the TV interview a year ago, they took our videos and turned them into DVD for us) and she said he had language, I just wasn't recognising it. But it was slow to develop further, and some concepts (such as how or why) he just did not understand at age 5. he could manage who, and what, barely manage how, but not the rest. We were told to not let him learn a second language. However, ti is compulsory here in Grade 7 but at that point I managed to get his work modified to include only one extra language and not three. I remember reading that the part of the brain we use for our primary language, is a different part of the brain we use for subsequent languages. Everything from there gets referenced back. With difficult child 3, it was as if his first language was the written word. Once he learned to read a word he was able to use it and understand it. Malika, your son's English sounds like French word order. "Let fall" sounds like literal translation of "laisse tombe". And other things you listed. But the masculine/feminine is a concern because he should be picking that up really fast, if French functionally is his first language. Especially if he uses it at school every day. Yes, multiple languages can slow apparent language development, but only apparently. And the delay is usually younger, not at age 6. It is possible that learning that bit of Arabic recently may have slowed things down or even caused a regression briefly. But I do see the concern. The kid over the road who had problems - he was being raised to be bilingual, like his older sister. The parents were bilingual (Spanish-English). We don't have many Spanish speakers in Australia so the only Spanish they had was in the home. When the boy was not quite three years old, he had a bad accident which left him brain-damaged. The doctors at first thought he was in a permanent vegetative state because he didn't respond to them. But his dad insisted that the boy would respond when he came into the room. The doctor would hold up a finger and say, "Follow my finger," and the boy would not respond. Then the dad would do it in Spanish and the boy would respond. What had them confused - the boy had been fluent in English before, but the accident had lost the English. He was not expected to survive at first, but he eventually came home. I remember his parents throwing a party, it was 10 pm and the boy was tired and whiny. No language output any more, none at all. Just noises. He was sat in a high chair and I sat with him while his mother went to set up his bed for him. He continued to whine so I took his hand and counted his fingers. He continued to whine so I switched to Spanish (numbers are pretty much the only Spanish I know, other than the words to "La Bamba"). Suddenly he stopped whining and focussed on his hand and my fingers. He had recognised the Spanish, not just the language but the words (even with my atrocious pronunciation). Over the next year he learned to understand instructions in English. They moved away when he was about 5 years old, we stayed in touch for a few years but have lost contact. the last we heard he was about 10 years old, still non-verbal but using a computer to communicate. He was back to being bilingual, however, in the language he was using on the computer. His sister never had any problems with language delay in either Spanish or English. Malika, I agree with the others, it does sound like his main language is French. Let him use all his languages, but perhaps give him some remedial support. For example, with his French nouns, label things around the house. Label in French and English but also give the gender. Add Arabic if you want. For example, "la porte" plus "the door"; "la table" plus "the table". This is what I did with difficult child 3 to deal with his real language delay which was coupled with his preference for the written word. We used the written word obsession to help him learn meaning and pronunciation. I also did this with the other kids when they were learning to read - I labeled everything around the house. I also wrote stories for the kids and we read them together. Kids love stories about themselves and especially when they were little, I would get old photo albums (the sort with those sticky overlay pages) and put photos plus story into the albums. That way they could turn the pages easily without ruining them. The sort of story you write - "My name is... I live at... My favourite food is... I am special because I can speak three languages. Here is how I would say this in my other languages..." Include photos of him doing his favourite things, perhaps a photo of your house. And if you move, change it to a photo of your new house. Maybe write a story about the trip to Morocco and the fun he had with his cousins. Set this up like a Rosetta Stone for him, with all three languages side by side. This will teach him sentence flow in all three languages. How this will then work for him, will tell you if the problem is simply too much trying to happen in his brain, or if there is something else. I know you've been told he does not meet criteria for autism in any way, but I am still not convinced. However, if I am wrong, then this strategy I suggest should remedy the problem. And if I am right, then it will still be a good benefit. Marg [/QUOTE]
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