Bilingualism Over the Lifespan (BOL): Integrating language rights, inclusion and evidence-based practice in serving bilingual clients

The purpose of this talk is to introduce a forthcoming Bilingualism Over the Lifespan (BOL) project that aims to elevate speech-language pathology practice for bilingual populations while emphasizing innovation, inclusion, and the integration of least-biased and evidence-based practices. We introduce frameworks that lay the foundation for language rights and communicative access, followed by presenting on identity-affirming, evidence-based practices for best serving bilingual persons across the lifespan. We contrast our rationale and procedures for evidence-informed, culturally responsive assessment of a bilingual preschooler with a language disorder and a bilingual adult with global aphasia. We will share practical tips and strategies to assess functional communication and conclude with discussing the fundamental place of a robust, least-biased assessment as the basis from which to plan intervention for language disorders and training for parents and communication partners.

References
Centeno, J. G. (2005). Working with bilingual individuals with aphasia: The case of a Spanish-English bilingual client. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Populations, 12 (1), 2-7. https://doi.org/10.1044/cds12.1.2

Pena, E. D. (2016). Supporting the home language of bilingual children with developmental disabilities: From knowing to doing. Journal of Communication Disorders, 63, 85-92.

Rose, S. T. (January, 2023). Reaching multilingual children in their home language. The ASHA Leader, https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTR2.28012023.ai-treatment-slp.50/full/