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Bilingual children in language units: does having 'well-informed' parents make a difference?
1University of Manchester, UK.
Summary
Bilingual children with speech and language impairments may have more complex needs. Parental experiences with identification and assessment processes varied, influencing outcomes for these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- A significant subgroup of bilingual children (11%) in a large English cohort exhibited distinct speech and language impairment characteristics.
- These bilingual children's language difficulties appeared more complex and potentially more severe than their monolingual counterparts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parental experiences with the identification and assessment of speech and language difficulties in bilingual children.
- To explore factors influencing these experiences, including parental knowledge and family language attitudes.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative interviews with parents of bilingual children identified with speech and language impairments.
- Comparison interviews with parents of monolingual children.
- Analysis of parental experiences based on their level of information regarding the assessment process.
Main Results:
- Differences emerged between bilingual and monolingual parents' experiences with the identification and assessment process.
- Bilingual parents were further categorized into 'more informed' and 'less informed' subgroups, with distinct experiences.
- Parental knowledge, family language attitudes, and relationships with language units correlated with these differences.
Conclusions:
- The identification and assessment of speech and language difficulties in bilingual children require nuanced approaches.
- Parental engagement and understanding are crucial factors in supporting bilingual children with language impairments.
- Further research should explore culturally sensitive assessment and intervention strategies for diverse linguistic populations.
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