speech-language therapy........

Dear readers,
            i wonder if its a coincidence.... but in this month of December itself i saw 4 children between the ages 4 yrs to 10 yrs, provisionally diagnosed with Autism. The major fact that caught my attention was all these children were trying to "speak ENGLISH". In fact when they reported for assessment too the parents insisted on English!!!!

While most of us have seen and noticed the need for being able to "talk" in English considering the global benefits!!!
But I personally have my reservations and not just for the specially abled but also children in general.
However i restrict this writeup here to children with needs.
My take"

1. there is evidence that the child begins to hear from the time he is in the womb. So obviously he is exposed to the mother tongue right then!!!
2. English in typical Indian homes is usually a learnt language, The mother tongue is 'acquired'.
3. the child, till he gets diagnosed is exposed to the mother tongue. all of a sudden he is thrust into a world of imposed English. Now imagine us doing that!!!!
4. In almost all cases i have seen that other family members like grandparents who are yet to accept the diagnosis are struggling to change their communication methods overnight! 
5. the most important fact is in India,  which is a multi lingual country with varied cultures, a child is exposed to a variety of languages and their dialects. Home, pre school, day care at times, the park etc. 
6. So personally i feel  (in case of parents speaking the same language) the mother tongue should take priority, especially since these days the diagnoses are early. Initial days the focus should be more on Occupational therapy which will help the child settle and get arousal levels under control, which will help him in speech-language development too.
7. Once the child is familiar with communication in mother tongue then other language/s can be introduced, considering social communication. 

However Language development is an ongoing process and at every step there should be a  consensus reached between the parents and the therapist. The goals should be  clear and try being as close to natural as possible.

DO NOT MAKE YOUR CHILD BY HEART STATEMENTS. 

QUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN QUANTITY.