Bilingual Speech Therapy

Bilingual therapy solutions allows students to access therapy services with native language support. Ideally, a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) will provide the services, but a monolingual SLP can provide bilingual services with the appropriate use of an interpreter. When working with an interpreter, the SLP retains responsibility for selecting culturally-appropriate materials, planning therapy sessions, and leading the sessions.

When providing bilingual therapy services, SLPs need to consider the child’s language differences and disorders. This requires that the SLP be proficient in the natural process of second language acquisition and provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

The primary goals of speech-language therapy for bilingual individuals are:

Accurately distinguishing between presentations of communication disorders and communication differences
Using interventions that provide the optimal environment for enhancing speech/language skills and minimizing the functional impact of communication disorders (Centeno & Anslado, 2013, via https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935225&section=Key_Issues)

The performance of bilingual students in speech-language therapy must be considered within a bilingual perspective. Assessment must take both languages into consideration, and progress in intervention needs to consider the amount of exposure and learning opportunities provided to the child in each language.