Assessment
What type of assessment tool is the Early Communication Indicator?
Play-based Observation
Discussion Question:
What challenges might clinicians face when conducting this naturalistic observation measure (ECI)?
What considerations did Peredo & colleagues consider when adapting the Enhanced Milieu Training for Spanish-Speaking families?
Discussion Question: Should other considerations have been included during the development of EMT in Spanish?
What is the concept that is repeatedly emphasized in the blog that is essential for supporting bilingual families?
Cultural Competence
Discussion Question: The blog frequently references cultural competence but what would cultural competence actually look like in a bilingual intervention session?
The Rivera family has a 3-year-old son, Mateo, who is showing signs of delayed expressive language. The family speaks primarily Spanish at home. Mateo receives early intervention services in a clinic where all staff are English-speaking except for one part-time bilingual assistant. The family is enthusiastic about supporting Mateo but sometimes struggles to understand technical terms used in therapy sessions. They also follow cultural practices that prioritize family storytelling and group play, which are not commonly incorporated into the current intervention program. The family expresses concerns that the therapy feels too clinic-centered and doesn’t feel connected to their home routines or cultural values.
What specific strategies could bridge the gap between therapy goals and the family’s home routines and cultural practices?
How could storytelling and group play be integrated into therapy to respect cultural practices while promoting language development?
Describe the study participants, including the sample size, age range, and geographic location.
39 participants, 7-36 months of age, Midwestern U.S. and Utah
Discussion Question:
Why is it important for language screening tools to be validated across geographically diverse populations, and what risks arise when research samples are regionally concentrated?
Why was it difficult for parents to generalize Milieu prompting into the picnic scene generalization activity?
Milieu prompting had a sequence order in which the adult/caregiver is intended to respond a specific way if the child did not respond as expected. It included moving from open-ended questions to modeling the target utterance, etc. It all varies depending on the child’s response.
Discussion Question: Would you teach milieu prompting to parents, yes or no? What may you consider before attempting to teach this strategy to a parent?
What is a major limitation of the blog when compared to peer-reviewed research on bilingual intervention?
evidence or evidence-based strategies or implementation specificity
Discussion Question: Why is it especially important for blogs targeting families to include evidence-based recommendations when discussing bilingual intervention?
Liza is a 32-year-old mother who immigrated from El Salvador 7 years ago. She completed high school in El Salvador and works part-time. The family’s income is below 200% of the federal poverty level. Spanish is spoken at home with all members of the household. Liza reports concern that her son, Mateo “doesn’t talk as much as other children.” Mateo is 34 months old with a language delay diagnosis. No additional diagnosis, or developmental disorders identified. He currently uses approximately 20 different words, communicates in primarily single-word utterances and rarely combines words. When interacting Liza has been observed to try and engage with Mateo by direct (e.g., Dime que es eso? Whats that?), and minimal expansion.
What strategies from the EMT would you encourage Liza to use with Mateo? Are there any additional factors that you may consider as you teach Liza the strategies?
Identify and describe at least two future research directions proposed by the authors.
- Small, non-representative sample
- Many children already receiving services
- Incomplete parent-report data for LDS
Discussion Question:
The article mentioned “further research should assess the ecological validity of the ECI to consider whether observations of child language should occur within play or other settings (e.g., mealtime, caregiving routines).
What are the 4 EMT strategies that were taught to the caregivers?
Matched Turns, Target Talk, Language Expansions, Time Delays or Milieu Teaching Prompts.
Discussion Question: What are 2 examples of how you may them with a child during intervention and which interventions may you intially introduced to parents during home-language intervention?
What responsibility do professionals or organizations have when publishing guidance about bilingual intervention for families?
clarify when content is opinion-based versus research-based, how bilingualism is framed, whether it’s positioned as an asset or a potential barrier, Organizations should avoid oversimplifying complex clinical issues just to make content more marketable. At a minimum, including references or links to evidence-based resources would strengthen credibility.
Discussion Question: Could generalized advice unintentionally reinforce myths about bilingualism?
Emilio is 20 months old and lives in a Spanish-speaking household. During the ECI, he produces few vocalizations and avoids eye contact with the unfamiliar examiner. His grandmother explains that in their culture, children are expected to speak only when spoken to.
How might cultural socialization practices influence Mateo’s performance?
How would you ensure your interpretation is culturally responsive (e.g., use any other observations, assessment tools, etc.)?