Bilingualism, Learning Disabilities, Special Needs, Immersion School etc.

[Anonymous]

Taking up the suggestion to take the discussion on bilingualism and special needs etc. to another topic discussion. DS, 8, has ADHD and anxiety and attends a dual immersion school (and has an IEP). He learned the language mostly thanks to daycare but we also speak it (non-native) and make use of various resources in the area, including kids theater. DH and I both have been committed to raising DS bilingually but DH also has had concerns about whether it was slowing his academic progress. I responded on the other thread last week, which was the first time I'd ever seen research on this issue.

Language learning in general is something that interests me and having a DC with special needs definitely adds another angle to this issue.

As for ADHD and executive function, here's one discussion on the issue.

http://www.primarilyinattentiveadd.com/2010/10/being-bilingual-may-help-inattention.html

[Anonymous]

For my child with suspected Asperger's, an immersion school is a great "fit" since learning a new language consists largely of practicing pragmatic speech and is naturally a large part of the curriculum. Exactly what my DS needs since it basically targets his main deficits/symptoms.

Also, in our case going to an immersion school certainly highlighted that there was an issue: He came home from preK being able to count, name colors, body parts, etc. in the foreign language which we don't speak at all but not being able to give the name of a single person in his classroom including the teachers.

[Anonymous]

My DC was in a bilingual program for years, diagnosed with ADHD. Some slower progress at first, as usual with bilingual programs, but it all came together in about 4th grade. ADHD also impacted working memory, processing, and so DC is slow but very verbal. After 4th grade, DC really progressed and now tests several grades above in English and at grade level in the other language. I don't think the language hurt at all in any way other than what you usually see with NT kids. I just figured that kids in Quebec are all in bilingual programs, with ADHD or not, so why deny my SN kid the gift of a second language.

[Anonymous]

My DS (ADHD/inattentive & anxiety) started out in a partial immersion Spanish program in FCPS in K. I'm multi-lingual and my DH's family South American and he is bilingual. We had very high expectations for DS in the immersion program but after being in the program for over a year, it was clear immersion was not a good fit for him. I'm not saying kids with challenges like his cannot learn a foreign language but our school systems aren't well set up for it like in countries where foreign language is mandatory and introduced in the early grades. It was causing DS too much anxiety and becoming a very negative experience for him. We came to the decision ourselves that DS would be better served by pulling him out of the program (his teachers remained neutral and tried their best to limit pull out services to when he had lessons in English). He's making much more progress, feels much better about school and has significantly less anxiety than when he was in the program. He is finally at grade level in English and near grade level in math. I have a NT DD in the program but my youngest with MERLD/apraxia is not in it. While he is making good progress, it is not an appropriate learning environment for him. Perhaps if our school system were set up for bilingual special ed, it might be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS (ADHD/inattentive & anxiety) started out in a partial immersion Spanish program in FCPS in K. I'm multi-lingual and my DH's family South American and he is bilingual. We had very high expectations for DS in the immersion program but after being in the program for over a year, it was clear immersion was not a good fit for him. I'm not saying kids with challenges like his cannot learn a foreign language but our school systems aren't well set up for it like in countries where foreign language is mandatory and introduced in the early grades. It was causing DS too much anxiety and becoming a very negative experience for him. We came to the decision ourselves that DS would be better served by pulling him out of the program (his teachers remained neutral and tried their best to limit pull out services to when he had lessons in English). He's making much more progress, feels much better about school and has significantly less anxiety than when he was in the program. He is finally at grade level in English and near grade level in math. I have a NT DD in the program but my youngest with MERLD/apraxia is not in it. While he is making good progress, it is not an appropriate learning environment for him. Perhaps if our school system were set up for bilingual special ed, it might be different.

Very interesting post. I'm the OP and DS' ADHD is primarily inattentive as well, along with anxiety. I'm surprised to hear about the pull-out issues in FCPS. DS gets pull-out for English-language arts (during English language arts time) but gets in-class help in math in Spanish from a special ed teacher, along with some of his classmates. The only thing I think could be better about DS' program is if they offered special ed support for Spanish language arts - it would be helpful, although DS actually is doing ok with it anyhow.

It's hard to say whether our DS would be less anxious with only one language. He has no issues understanding Spanish and his anxiety is primarily social anxiety -- it seems to us (right now at least) that he'd still be dealing with anxiety regardless, because we see the anxiety in non-school situations as well. Still. your post is certainly food for thought. Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

17:20 here. I think it depends on child and severity of impairment. My DS also has working memory and executive functioning challenges and expressive/receptive speech delays. He was floundering in English and in Spanish. We actually had a very difficult time going through the IEP process because in the words of the school psychologist "nothing about your child stands out". Unlike many other kids with his type of challenges, DS shuts down when overwhelmed. He was never a behavior problem because he withdraws when frustrated or upset. He's also very social and since the bar for K achievement is so low, he wasn't on anyone's radar. But, you should have seen him at home. We also knew he wasn't learning anything (in English or in Spanish). So, we had extensive testing done which is when we got the ADHD/inattentive and anxiety diagnoses and learned about his speech delay. We kept him in the partial immersion program but after a while and much gnashing of teeth, we pulled him. It was an incredibly difficult decision because we so believe in learning other languages. We questioned our decision a lot but now that it's been 2+ years, we can see that, for him, it really was the right decision. Now that DS is on the right track, I believe he could learn a foreign language if it were part of the special ed curriculum but, unfortunately, it's not an option right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:20 here. I think it depends on child and severity of impairment. My DS also has working memory and executive functioning challenges and expressive/receptive speech delays. He was floundering in English and in Spanish. We actually had a very difficult time going through the IEP process because in the words of the school psychologist "nothing about your child stands out". Unlike many other kids with his type of challenges, DS shuts down when overwhelmed. He was never a behavior problem because he withdraws when frustrated or upset. He's also very social and since the bar for K achievement is so low, he wasn't on anyone's radar. But, you should have seen him at home. We also knew he wasn't learning anything (in English or in Spanish). So, we had extensive testing done which is when we got the ADHD/inattentive and anxiety diagnoses and learned about his speech delay. We kept him in the partial immersion program but after a while and much gnashing of teeth, we pulled him. It was an incredibly difficult decision because we so believe in learning other languages. We questioned our decision a lot but now that it's been 2+ years, we can see that, for him, it really was the right decision. Now that DS is on the right track, I believe he could learn a foreign language if it were part of the special ed curriculum but, unfortunately, it's not an option right now.

OP here - your DS really does sound like ours. He definitely shuts down. Participation in class is a big issue because of the anxiety. Did your DS speak Spanish before starting the immersion program (were you raising him bilingually from birth?)? In our DS' case, because he has grown up with both languages since birth, it's hard to see how eliminating one language (and he would lose Spanish without school) would help. Still, this is something we struggle over. Having just done some quick googling on this issue gives us some comfort, since a variety of studies seem to suggest no meaningful difference in academic outcomes (dual immersion versus monolingual education), but yeah, it's hard to be certain and know what the best decision is.

[Anonymous]

But at a school that I am very familiar with (LAMB PCS in D.C.), over 13% of the kids are on IEPs, acc to the data recently released on charter schools. They have pull-outs, push-ins, etc. Kids have diagnoses of ADHD, ADD, aspergers, apraxia, OT/PT issues, sensory, etc. and who knows what else. Those kids are excelling in English and Spanish -- the Spanish angle is not really a problem.

Some kids (NT and SN) are clearly better at the second language than others -- it may have more to do with two languages being spoken in the home or just a natural ability or affinity for language. But if you look at test scores, even broken out for special ed kids, they are doing well. It can be done -- maybe it's program specific where your child had trouble, and not the actual bilingual immersion piece of the puzzle.

The first years of a bilingual program can be tough for any child, anxiety, speech problems, behavior problems or NT. Some of the most confident, verbal NT kids are overwhelmed when they can't immediately express themselves the way they want to due to the second language -- I think this is normal. It takes years for it all to gel. I guess what I'm saying is that the kids start to get it in 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade, and learning in two languages becomes normal to them, special needs or not. It's no longer a cause for anxiety, it's just what's done. Miss Flores speaks Spanish, Mrs. McGillicutty speaks English-- not a problem.

[Anonymous]

It is so great to hear LAMB doing those sorts of interventions. Some schools seem to be stretched so thin they can't do all of the services they should be providing to support the anxiety, behavior and other emotional needs of kids.

[Anonymous]

I think some immersion schools do a very good job with services. In Arlington, this is definitely the case, although they probably need to take it one step further and provide special needs support for Spanish language arts.

[Anonymous]

Does lamb also do services in Spanish? Needless to say, that might be easier to find than, say, a Mandarin special ed teacher.

[Anonymous]

The assistant teacher in my DS's classroom is a native Mandarin speaking special ed teacher. She is great and my DS absolutely adores her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The assistant teacher in my DS's classroom is a native Mandarin speaking special ed teacher. She is great and my DS absolutely adores her.

Wow - that is impressive. The special ed teachers our son works with in the classroom speak (decent) Spanish but are not native speakers. This is the "next frontier" that the school needs to conquer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The assistant teacher in my DS's classroom is a native Mandarin speaking special ed teacher. She is great and my DS absolutely adores her.

Wow - that is impressive. The special ed teachers our son works with in the classroom speak (decent) Spanish but are not native speakers. This is the "next frontier" that the school needs to conquer.

We're very lucky. I doubt having a 'decent' Mandarin speaker would work since the language is tonal. Also, the preK grade is complete immersion, no English at all. We are in the middle of getting DS assessed and getting an IEP so I'm hoping for as much push-in services as possible in the target language.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have experience with Washington International School for inattentive ADHD and dyslexia? No behavior and verbally bilingual Spanish-English elementary student. TIA