Bilingual Speech Therapy
With eLuma, linguistic barriers become a thing of the past.
Bilingual Speech Therapy for Schools
When a multilingual student struggles to communicate, your team has to determine whether it reflects a language difference or a communication disorder.
eLuma’s bilingual speech-language services provide accurate evaluations and therapy with native-language support.
Bilingual Speech-Language Services
eLuma provides bilingual speech-language evaluation and therapy for K-12 districts. Ideally, a bilingual SLP provides these services, and a monolingual SLP can provide them with the appropriate use of an interpreter. Your eLuma SLPs provide:
- Speech-language evaluations that take both languages into account, including Spanish editions of the CELF-4 and GFTA-3
- Direct therapy aligned with IEP goals, with native language support
- Culturally and linguistically appropriate materials and session planning
- IEP meeting attendance and collaboration with your in-school team
Services are delivered live and virtually on a secure, FERPA-compliant platform.
eLuma’s bilingual speech therapy has two primary goals:
- Accurately distinguishing a communication disorder from a communication difference
- Using interventions that provide the optimal environment for building speech and language skills and minimizing the functional impact of a communication disorder
Signs of a communication disorder appear across all the languages a student uses, although symptoms usually differ from one language to the next (ASHA).
Assessment therefore takes both languages into account, and progress in intervention considers how much exposure and learning opportunity the student has had in each. eLuma’s bilingual therapists support your team through this process.
What IDEA Requires When You Evaluate Multilingual Students
In fall 2021, 5.3 million public school students, or 10.6%, were English learners, and 15.8% of them were identified as students with disabilities (NCES). Three IDEA requirements apply directly to their evaluations:
- Assessments must be selected and administered “so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis” (34 CFR 300.304(c)(1)(i)).
- Assessments must be provided and administered in the child’s native language or other mode of communication, in the form most likely to yield accurate information, unless it is clearly not feasible (34 CFR 300.304(c)(1)(ii)).
- A child must not be found eligible if the determining factor is limited English proficiency (34 CFR 300.306(b)(1)(iii)).
Why Districts Choose eLuma for Bilingual Services
Compliant services
eLuma’s services are delivered to meet state and IDEA requirements.
Qualified SLPs
eLuma matches your district with SLPs from a national network with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Dedicated support
A named Customer Success Partner is assigned to every district.
Help Every Student Be Understood
If you have questions about online school-based speech therapy and how it works, explore why schools win with online therapy to learn more about how effective and affordable it really is.
eLuma has served 500+ districts since 2011 with a 92% satisfaction rate. Book your free consultation to learn more about eLuma’s speech-language therapy for schools.
Frequently Asked Questions About
Bilingual Speech Therapy
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Does eLuma provide bilingual speech therapy for schools?
Yes. eLuma provides bilingual speech-language evaluations and therapy for K-12 districts, delivered by a bilingual SLP or by an SLP working with an interpreter. Services are available virtually.
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How do you tell a language difference from a language disorder?
Signs of a communication disorder appear across all the languages a student uses. A language difference reflects the natural process of second-language acquisition. An evaluation that takes both languages into account is how teams tell them apart.
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Does an English learner have to be evaluated in their native language?
IDEA requires that assessments be provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, in the form most likely to yield accurate information, unless it is clearly not feasible (34 CFR 300.304(c)(1)(ii)).
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Should a bilingual student receive speech therapy in English or their native language?
The decision depends on the student's language history, how often each language is used, proficiency in each, and family goals. ASHA encourages clinicians to support continued use of the language spoken at home.
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Is bilingual speech therapy the same as English language instruction?
They serve different needs. English language instruction helps students attain English proficiency. Bilingual speech therapy treats a communication disorder in a student who uses more than one language. A student can need one or both.
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