a bit of advice please

[lou lou]

I am currently looking after a little girl that turned two in april and she is bulgarian and dad romanion so there is a bit of a language barrier and i just have a few concerns as the little girl is not talking very well, I am just about to do the 2 year progress check form which I have advised mum to go to her health visitor as she could give her some advice but she has trouble getting hold of her and someone has said to her they dont do that check anymore which I said I have never heard off that and that she should chase them up mum even said she had to chase up for some vacanations that she didi not know her daughter had to have, so really just want to help mum and get some information for her which i am quite happy to print off can anyone give me any advice on what I should print off for mum as I really think her daughter may she require a bit of help with a speech development but i also realise she might be a bit behind because of the 3 different languages that are spoken to her so she could be getting a bit confused, quite a difficult one really as I dont expect her to be talking really well but a bit better that what she is so I wonder if she needs to be refered to someone or is there anyone i can phone for her to help her out and also dont think mum always understands what i am saying she does speak english but think struggles with some of it thanks for help in advance.

[kellyskidz!]

Is it true that children in bilingual families start talking later? | BabyCenter
Found this from google which may help you and Mum. Just an example, don't take it as gospel but it helps to understand that her speech may be delay slightly coming from a bilingual home before you write her progress check. You can suggest to mum that she has a 'main' language and speaks the others also but I don't know if this will go down well :/
With regards to the language barrier with Mum herself could you maybe type up a letter explaining and she can always take that away and either spend more time deciphering it in her own time or ask a friend to go through it with her.
Also you could do more language activities with her, even just reading or singing as she's probably confused with all dif languages been spoken xx

[lou lou]

I have said to mum that her language could be a bit behind because of the language barrier but I really think she should be seeing the health visitor just in case as i dont feel qualified enough to decide if she needs extra help, what worries me is she has trouble getting hold of the health visitor which i feel is not very good and i would hate to wait for another six months to see if it gets any better with her speech.

[AliceK]

I had a bilingual minded child for 3 years, she started with me when she was 1yr old. English was not the main language spoken at home although her parents had very good English language. She was later than average with her talking but she was obviously very bright and her level of understanding was high. She is now almost 4 and her talking is fine. I think at that early age they are taking it all in, making sense of it all and the differences. Have you looked at the ECAT sheet to see how she is doing? Also regards the 2yr check, the HV's around here don't do it anymore unless a parent requests one.

xxxx

[rosebud]

I have also been working with a tri-lingual child, (Italian / Slovakian) her speech was a bit delayed but she is 2 and a half and can understand all 3 languages and speaks a little bit, mainly in English. I think it is normal for speech to be delayed whilst their little brains get their heads around the different languages in different settings. (Imagine how confused you would be?!?)
The 2 year old check is only done for "Target families" here, although i didn't know that until today! and when speech and language do an assessment at age 2 - 3 they only look at the child's understanding and whether the child is using 2 word combinations. If they can do this then they won't offer any support (May be different in other areas). At age 3-4 they assess whether the child can use 3-4 word combinations and their range of words.
You say the child is "not talking well" so I assume she talks a little and considering this child's circumstances and her very young age I wouldn't be worrying yet, she will probably soon catch up once she gets going!

[sarah707]

I have a tri-lingual child and she manages to communicate with us using a combination of all 3 languages and pictures

It's a bit of a challenge because we don't see her very often but she is doing really well for her age and while not quite within age / stage range for English she is definitely able to communicate in her chosen way

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Have you done your speech language training? I was given BRISC tables to use and if I suspect that a child has speech delay then I refer to the speech therapist myself, you don't have to wait for the 2 year old check and get the hv to do it.

[JMcG]

Go to the Website for the charity ican.org.uk

[JMcG]

Go to the Website for the charity ican.org.uk, they have good advice & resources. I also called up & spoke to a speech therapist about a mindee. Then I supported mum by going to the local sure start centres speech therapy drop in session with her as she didn't have the confidence to do it on her own. They thought I was mad turning up with all my little ones but they had plenty if toys to play with there & supporting mum was important for me!

[Bluebell]

I'm really shocked that this lady can't get hold of the health visitor and that some areas the health visitors dont do the health check - so much for early intervention!!
I recently contacted the speech therapist and she said wait to refer through HV. I would love to do a speech course as I feel this is something that could be really beneficial - how would I go around doing one of those?