" My child is four years old and is only just beginning to speak. She sees a speech therapist to help her. The therapist has said that we should stop speaking our language to her and just use English as she will become confused. Our English is not very good."

F.Savitzky, London Language and Literacy Unit, South Bank University:

" There is no evidence that bilingualism will make it harder for children with speech problems to develop speech. If the family stops speaking their language to a child who already has a speech problem there is a possibility that the child will become even more isolated and unable to speak. The added problem of communication in the family being difficult in English can only add to the problem. A child with a speech problem needs to be surrounded by speech and people who feel confident in their use of langauge so that she has positive role models. In many countries children with special needs have no choice as education is not in their own language and they learn to speak several languages to the best of their ability. Some researchers in this field even think that bilingualism can be very positive for these children."

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