Clinically We Occasionally See 2-Year-Old Children with an Inquiry of Speech Delay and They Want to Verify Normal Hearing Before an SLP Referral. And Sometimes the Child Is Learning Two Languages at the Same Time at Home. If There Is A Speech Delay (Or Concern About A Speech Delay), Should the Parents Be Encouraged To Only Speak One Language at Home, Or Continue With the Two Languages?

Families should be encouraged to continue speaking the two (or more!) languages that they naturally use at home. Multilingualism does not harm children’s language development; it confers many benefits for language learning and connects children with their home cultures. Recommending families to only use English at home is not only ineffective, but it also carries a significant risk of harm.