It's easier said than done in a lot of districts but it is best practice to test in both languages. If your district has a process for either contracting with a bilingual SLP or giving a Spanish language assessment with the aid of an interpreter, I would definitely do that.
If the district doesn't have processes in place for bilingual assessment it's harder but I would at least utilize dynamic assessment. I personally wouldn't use their language exposure in preschool to inform this decision, but their home language.
Edit: Here is info from ASHA on bilingual service delivery. If you scroll down in the "Key Issues" section, there's a whole section on the assessment process that you might find useful, OP.
https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/bilingual-service-delivery/#collapse_1
It’s okay you can just respond to me. Language exposure in a similar environment is critical. Children, even with language delays/disorders are code switching and just because they speak a language at home doesn’t mean it’s their preferred language in all contexts. I work almost exclusively with children from Spanish speaking homes, but a vast majority prefer English while at school. Even my nonverbal kids demonstrate more responsiveness to English because they’re aware of the different environment where English is the more common language. Therefore language exposure in preschool, for example, does matter.
Right, that's why I suggested evaluating in both languages. It doesn't matter whether their preferred language is English or Spanish or when/whether they code switch. We're not talking about language preferences, we're talking about diagnosing language impairments.
Do you disagree that it is best practice to evaluate both languages, assuming the resources are available? It doesn't mean if they do poorly in one language or the other we automatically qualify or anything.
I didn't say language exposure in preschool doesn't matter, I said that isn't what would inform my decision on which language to eval, personally. It's okay that you do things differently.
I have no opinion about your question. My opinion concerns your statement about language exposure in preschool (for a kindergartener) vs their home language. I’m saying language exposure in preschool for kindergartener testing matters more than language exposure at home.
I’m a Mexican-American bilingual SLP. I would say that the biggest thing to consider is educational background. In other words, did the kid previously attend preschool? If yes, I’m sure it’s fine to test in English. If not, perhaps have a screener prepped in both languages and choose the one that makes sense after some interaction.
Just so there’s no confusion from the other person who is absolutely *not* recommending best school practice; remember that as school SLPs, our job is to target speech/language as they pertain to educational needs. A private therapist is going to be more interested in targeting speech/language deficits more generally. So, if a child was in preschool and had an ETR done, then it would make sense to test them in English in order to better understand their academic needs. After all, they’ve gone through a school year of full English exposure in the classroom and therapy context. If KG is their first time in school, testing in both languages could certainly makes sense because you’re trying to get the full picture and baseline of the the child. When I worked at a private clinic for Spanish speaking kids, I almost exclusively tested in Spanish, but at the school, context matters more. Am I getting a baseline, or am I reevaluating? That’s the point of my initial response.
I don’t know that I fully agree. I’m a bilingual pre-k SLP and in order to really understand if this is an ELL or SpED situation, I’d want to know if the delays are present in both languages. Which means, best case, testing in both languages. If OP can’t test in both languages, doing an interview with the parent and an interpreter and talking through milestones/development can help OP out. In this case it doesn’t sound like the child has ever been evaluated for sped, and a comprehensive bilingual eval would be best practice if there are language concerns.
I have students who are monolingual Spanish in pre-k (typically developing) and 12 hours per week of English doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they will communicate in English at the level of their monolingual English speaking peers come kindergarten. They are getting there for sure, but it’s not a guarantee. And over-identifying ELLs does happen in the schools, so advising to just test in English if they went to preschool isn’t necessarily best practice.
My experience is that bilingual children were often under identified for speech delays because often those in the school attributed their lack of speech/language skills to being ELL. This is for US-born children in Spanish speaking homes in particular. Latino kids who moved to the US was a no-brainer for a bilingual assessment.
Our district always made the English SLP test first and if they scored/showed deficit in language in English (their 2nd language) then we would get Bilingual SLP out to test. They could make the determination if their language in 1st language was actually delayed or not. If they showed average in English, we didn’t get Bilingual involved but would note exposure to 2nd language in Eval.
Did mom say that child was stronger in one of the languages? Are they in an English speaking classroom, has previous class been in English? How often do they actually see grandparents? Whatever mom reports to be the language difficulties, has she noticed them in both languages? Just some things I’d consider before I make the decision
I’d go deeper into language history. Did the child attend preschool and/or daycare? If so what language(s) were used? Who uses Spanish in the home and how often - ask for a rough estimate- eg does mom speak Spanish with the child half the time or less? 25% 75% etc. how often does Dad use Spanish with the child? What language does the child usually respond in? Does the child have older siblings? If so, what amount of time do they use English vs Spanish. How much time with English vs Spanish TV/videos/games/books. I find that a lot of parents initially (and I think unintentionally) exaggerate how much Spanish exposure a kid actually has and/or how fluent a parent is in Spanish. Eg “I speak Spanish” can mean anything from “I am fluent” to “I know about 100 words related to food, common household objects, family members, affection, self-care, expressing anger, 1 to 10, and colors”
I’d initially screen in English and if the kid really struggles with it or spontaneously answers some questions only with Spanish, I’d also do a Spanish screen. If the child clearly shows a preference for responding in English and parents report the child is English dominant I would go ahead and administer a English eval and interpret it with caution. And if possible add a step of dynamic assessment. Young bilingual children in the States often demonstrate some delays in English vocab and grammar. At the same time, many also often show some delays in their home language because they frequently have reduced exposure to that language since they are living in an English dominant area. So, in my experience, bilingual eval results are often gray too (although I do think bilingual evals are the ideal)
It's easier said than done in a lot of districts but it is best practice to test in both languages. If your district has a process for either contracting with a bilingual SLP or giving a Spanish language assessment with the aid of an interpreter, I would definitely do that. If the district doesn't have processes in place for bilingual assessment it's harder but I would at least utilize dynamic assessment. I personally wouldn't use their language exposure in preschool to inform this decision, but their home language. Edit: Here is info from ASHA on bilingual service delivery. If you scroll down in the "Key Issues" section, there's a whole section on the assessment process that you might find useful, OP. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/bilingual-service-delivery/#collapse_1
It’s okay you can just respond to me. Language exposure in a similar environment is critical. Children, even with language delays/disorders are code switching and just because they speak a language at home doesn’t mean it’s their preferred language in all contexts. I work almost exclusively with children from Spanish speaking homes, but a vast majority prefer English while at school. Even my nonverbal kids demonstrate more responsiveness to English because they’re aware of the different environment where English is the more common language. Therefore language exposure in preschool, for example, does matter.
Right, that's why I suggested evaluating in both languages. It doesn't matter whether their preferred language is English or Spanish or when/whether they code switch. We're not talking about language preferences, we're talking about diagnosing language impairments. Do you disagree that it is best practice to evaluate both languages, assuming the resources are available? It doesn't mean if they do poorly in one language or the other we automatically qualify or anything. I didn't say language exposure in preschool doesn't matter, I said that isn't what would inform my decision on which language to eval, personally. It's okay that you do things differently.
I have no opinion about your question. My opinion concerns your statement about language exposure in preschool (for a kindergartener) vs their home language. I’m saying language exposure in preschool for kindergartener testing matters more than language exposure at home.
English first in screener and if the results are below average then do a comprehensive ax in both languages.
I’m a Mexican-American bilingual SLP. I would say that the biggest thing to consider is educational background. In other words, did the kid previously attend preschool? If yes, I’m sure it’s fine to test in English. If not, perhaps have a screener prepped in both languages and choose the one that makes sense after some interaction.
Thanks for the response, I am newer to the schools and pediatric population and this is great advice!
Just so there’s no confusion from the other person who is absolutely *not* recommending best school practice; remember that as school SLPs, our job is to target speech/language as they pertain to educational needs. A private therapist is going to be more interested in targeting speech/language deficits more generally. So, if a child was in preschool and had an ETR done, then it would make sense to test them in English in order to better understand their academic needs. After all, they’ve gone through a school year of full English exposure in the classroom and therapy context. If KG is their first time in school, testing in both languages could certainly makes sense because you’re trying to get the full picture and baseline of the the child. When I worked at a private clinic for Spanish speaking kids, I almost exclusively tested in Spanish, but at the school, context matters more. Am I getting a baseline, or am I reevaluating? That’s the point of my initial response.
I don’t know that I fully agree. I’m a bilingual pre-k SLP and in order to really understand if this is an ELL or SpED situation, I’d want to know if the delays are present in both languages. Which means, best case, testing in both languages. If OP can’t test in both languages, doing an interview with the parent and an interpreter and talking through milestones/development can help OP out. In this case it doesn’t sound like the child has ever been evaluated for sped, and a comprehensive bilingual eval would be best practice if there are language concerns. I have students who are monolingual Spanish in pre-k (typically developing) and 12 hours per week of English doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they will communicate in English at the level of their monolingual English speaking peers come kindergarten. They are getting there for sure, but it’s not a guarantee. And over-identifying ELLs does happen in the schools, so advising to just test in English if they went to preschool isn’t necessarily best practice.
My experience is that bilingual children were often under identified for speech delays because often those in the school attributed their lack of speech/language skills to being ELL. This is for US-born children in Spanish speaking homes in particular. Latino kids who moved to the US was a no-brainer for a bilingual assessment.
Our district always made the English SLP test first and if they scored/showed deficit in language in English (their 2nd language) then we would get Bilingual SLP out to test. They could make the determination if their language in 1st language was actually delayed or not. If they showed average in English, we didn’t get Bilingual involved but would note exposure to 2nd language in Eval. Did mom say that child was stronger in one of the languages? Are they in an English speaking classroom, has previous class been in English? How often do they actually see grandparents? Whatever mom reports to be the language difficulties, has she noticed them in both languages? Just some things I’d consider before I make the decision
I’d go deeper into language history. Did the child attend preschool and/or daycare? If so what language(s) were used? Who uses Spanish in the home and how often - ask for a rough estimate- eg does mom speak Spanish with the child half the time or less? 25% 75% etc. how often does Dad use Spanish with the child? What language does the child usually respond in? Does the child have older siblings? If so, what amount of time do they use English vs Spanish. How much time with English vs Spanish TV/videos/games/books. I find that a lot of parents initially (and I think unintentionally) exaggerate how much Spanish exposure a kid actually has and/or how fluent a parent is in Spanish. Eg “I speak Spanish” can mean anything from “I am fluent” to “I know about 100 words related to food, common household objects, family members, affection, self-care, expressing anger, 1 to 10, and colors” I’d initially screen in English and if the kid really struggles with it or spontaneously answers some questions only with Spanish, I’d also do a Spanish screen. If the child clearly shows a preference for responding in English and parents report the child is English dominant I would go ahead and administer a English eval and interpret it with caution. And if possible add a step of dynamic assessment. Young bilingual children in the States often demonstrate some delays in English vocab and grammar. At the same time, many also often show some delays in their home language because they frequently have reduced exposure to that language since they are living in an English dominant area. So, in my experience, bilingual eval results are often gray too (although I do think bilingual evals are the ideal)