Bilingualism and our kids with Trisomy 21

Based on my own experience raising my son, with Trisomy 21, being simultaneously bilingual has more advantage than disadvantage. Hearing two languages at home is a factor that has helped Tommy in his Speech because he has to process two set of sounds, which strength his auditory processing more than if he would be exposed to just one language. Speech is his strength in the area of communications. So why not to take advantage of raising him bilingual. We don't have to paid for Spanish classes. It's a natural and on going simulation that I am seeing results without the pressure of doing therapy or dedicating time to help him to learn Spanish. My long term goal, for both of my kids, is that they can learn a third language into the Roman Languages. I can naturally understand a little bit of  Italian and Portuguese, and a little of French, but it is harder than Italian and Portuguese. This is because I speaks two Roman Languages.

Currently, there are not much reaseach or teaching guidence to help our kids with Trisomy 21 two learn a second language. But there many multicultural families who has gone against what their Speech Therapist has advised to not teach a second language to a child with Trisomy 21. Those parents has proven to the world how wrong was to think that a child with Trisomy 21 couldn't learn 2 or more languages, because there are kids with Tridomy 21 who have learned more than 2 languages.

I don't have a teaching method.  The key for learning a second language is constantly listening to the second language. I just talk, read and sing in Spanish as much as I can when I am home with the kids. I have to tell I am very proud that both of my kids understand Spanish very well, considering I am the only one that talks to them in Spanish. So consistency is other important factor in helping a child with Trisomy 21, or any child, to learn a second language.

A few tips to keep going the second spoken language at your home:
1. Build a library with book and songs in the second language
2. keeps the books in place where you and the kids spend a lot of time together
3. Ask relatives for books in the second language as Birthday or Christmas gifts.

Information about bilingualism and kids with Trisomy 21

Language Learning in Four Bilingual Children with Down Syndrome: A Detailed Analysis of Vocabulary and Morphosyntax

Can Children with Down Syndrome learn more than one language?

Bilingual Children with Down Syndrome

Can Children with Language Impairment Learn Two Languages

THINK AGAIN, Children with Down Syndrome can Become Multilingual

Based on my own experience, both of my kids should learn both languages because they are part of a multicultural family, My family just speaks Spanish and my husband's family just speaks English, how cruel it would be to insulate Tommy from one family or the other just because he has Trisomy 21.  My mom doesn't see her grant kids quite often because she leaves in other country, and she just speaks Spanish. I cannot tell my mom, who loves Tommy so much, that she won't never be available to communicate with his grandson in Spanish just because he has Down syndrome. How cruel would be thinking in this way for Tommy and my mom because they have have a special bond, and they communicate very well, he perfectly understand when she speaks Spanish to him, no doubt about it. We don't put limits on Tommy just because he has Trisomy 21. He has the right to enjoy being part of multicultural family, as his younger brother. By the way, he doesn't have the American accent when he says words in Spanish and he doesn't have the Spanish accent when he says words in English. We are very proud of Tommy's bilingual skills.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!