Miriam Said:

bilingual toddlers, confusions!!!!?

We Answered:

The conventional wisdom is that kids who are normal language-learners benefit from simultaneous exposure to more than one language in the home and can readily learn two languages at once.
Kids who have speech/language delay (especially those who have sensory issues) are not "normal language learners" and benefit most from learning only one language at a time. A second language can be introduced once the child has mastered the first language; typically, at age 7 or so.
I must say that the people who evaluated your son and are currently treating him are the ones who know his specific case, not the people who gave you conflicting advice. Stick with the guidance his current therapists give you, rather than muddying the waters with other opinions which may, or may not, apply in your child's case.

Danielle Said:

Declaring my daughter disable?

We Answered:

Your questions have been answered very well by several other people but there is one thing I would like to add to the discussion. You want to know if you should wait and see if your little girl "catches up" on her own. I will tell you from personal experience that that is a bad idea!!! My son has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Autism. When he was small I absolutely refused to believe it! Anytime someone raised concerns about him I would get offended and refuse to listen. This was TERRIBLE for my poor son! I finally came around but it tool a huge crises on my son's part before I did. Now I regret not getting him help when he first needed it. He is doing really well now but who knows how much better he would be if I had!? Get your little girl the help she needs. I know how much it hurts to sign the papers saying your precious child is disabled but it is the right thing to do! She needs help and she needs it NOW! Someday, when you look back at your child's life you want to be able to say you did whatever it took to help her grow up to be the best person she can be!!
Getting her help through an Early Intervention/ECSE program CAN help her catch up.

Eleanor Said:

What can I do to encourage my 4 year old son with autism to use more language?

We Answered:

You could teach him sign. Remember (and I'm quoting this from Rachel Coleman; I didn't come up with it), don't confuse SPEECH with COMMUNICATION. Speech is a skill, Speech is not a language. English is a language, Spanish is a language, ASL is a language and Speech is a skill. Your number one priority should be to communicate with your child NOW with a language.

I babysit an autistic child, and after exposing him to a television show called Signing Time! (signingtime.com), he began to sign.

If you teach him this and he catches on, the words will come.

I answered another question similar to this one, and this is what I wrote:

You could try to teach him/her American Sign Language (ASL). People develop motor control before they can talk. Signing Time is a great series for this. Rachel Coleman, her deaf daughter Leah, and Leah's hearing cousin Alex help children develop ASL vocabulary in a fun way. They also have a sister series called Baby Signing Time, which is structured differently. It is more engaging for young children (like 0-3). All of these will help your child in language and may boost their IQ (Intelligence Quotient) scores.

(links to Signing Time resources posted in sources section)

Sorry that's it's long, I just wanted to help! Signing Time is a GREAT series, and NO child should be denied it. Any child, no matter what their abilities can use it to learn sign language vocabulary. I hope you consider my advice and choose Signing Time for your child. You do not need to buy Signing Time to watch it if it's on PBS where you live (but Rachel has announced that they can't afford to offer it anymore so I don't know how much longer Signing Time on PBS will last. It still SAYS it's on here, though). Otherwise, you will probably need to buy the DVDs to watch it. It will NOT delay your child's speech further (contrary to popular belief), and you will not regret it!

I TRULY feel that teaching your child to sign will help him in the long run. I thank you for taking my answer into consideration.