Kids Don’t Come with a Manual: Ep 6; Challenges of a trilingual whānau

A mum who speaks French, English and te reo Māori is struggling to come to terms with her son’s dyspraxia - a chronic condition that begins in childhood and causes difficulties with motor (movement) skills and coordination.

Dyspraxia can cause a wide range of issues with movement and coordination. Some may be noticeable at an early age, while others may only become obvious as your child gets older.

On tonight’s final episode of Kids Don’t Come with a Manual, neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu) comes face-to-face with Briar, a māmā of five, who speaks multiple languages and only te reo Māori to her tamariki.

But son Jean Paul has recently been diagnosed with dyspraxia and Briar is coming to terms with helping her son overcome the challenges of learning and living with dyspraxia while living in a trilingual whānau.

Wallis heads to Briar’s home in Northland for a korero.

Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis arrives at Briar's Northland home. Photo / Supplied

Briar expresses concern abour whether having multiple languages is holding JP’s learning back and whether speaking just one language would help him?

“You know, we say academically that language is the major driver of cognition,” Wallis said.

“What that means is it is one of the most intelligent things your brain does, is this kanohi ki te kanohi, face-to-face interaction with other people.

“Language involves syntax, grammar, meaning, pace, pitch, tone, intonation.

“It’s not surprising that it uses most of the brain when you start to break down what’s involved in it.

“When you learn an additional language, it has an interesting and kind of wonderful impact on the brain. Literally, there’s some parts of your brain that grow thicker and denser in response to having more than one language.

“In fact, we often say that it’s impossible to be bilingual; as soon as we have two languages you automatically develop this third language, the language we call meta language.

Briar and her baby at a teacher hui to discuss JP's dyspraxia. Photo / Supplied

He said growing up in a bilingual environment or having regular exposure to a second language leads to more complex cognitive development.

As the whānau head to the park for a hui, Wallis has a chat with JP about fishing, football and working with others.

Finally, Briar and JP’s teachers have a virtual hui with Wallis to see how they can best support Jean Paul and what to look for with other children they might come across in the classroom who share JP’s dyspraxia.

“The earlier we can notice it and the earlier we can put those supports in place, the better the outcomes are for the student. It helps their confidence too. It speaks volumes for the school and for John Paul’s family that he has maintained such a high level of confidence and social skills and good self-esteem, when he has had those struggles. That speaks well to all of you and the environment and the culture you have around him,” Wallis said.

Watch the full episode tonight on Whakaata Māori at 7.30pm or on Māori+ on demand.