Speech-Language Pathologists' Language Practices during Speech-Language Therapy for Bilingual Children.
Megan C Gross, Kylie Dubé
PMID 40772255WHAT IT FOUND
Most Massachusetts speech therapists reported serving bilingual children in English only.
Clinicians with professional proficiency in a client's home language provided services in both languages far more often. Barriers included lack of bilingual staff, limited interpreters, and school policies prioritizing English.
Key findings
01Only 21.5% of bilingual clients reported by survey respondents were receiving services in both languages.
02Therapists with professional proficiency in a language other than English provided services in both languages for 60% of their bilingual caseload, compared to 6% or 16% for those with some or no proficiency.
03Barriers to bilingual intervention included school district policies, lack of bilingual staff, limited access to interpreters, and insufficient training or materials.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (32 survey, 5 interviews) and localized to Massachusetts, limiting generalizability. Volunteer bias may have attracted SLPs with greater interest or experience in bilingualism. Survey questions may have been interpreted differently, potentially underestimating the extent of informal bilingual support. Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected service delivery contexts. The study did not capture rural versus urban differences in resource availability.
Declared interests
The first author is a member of the Massachusetts Speech-Language Hearing Association's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion advisory group, which relates to the research content, but receives no compensation for this role.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the low percentage of bilingual services as evidence that SLPs are failing to support home languages. The study found that SLPs with some proficiency often used informal strategies like code-switching or cognates that they did not classify as 'bilingual services' in the survey, meaning the 21.5% figure likely underestimates actual bilingual support.