06/12/25 Live Event – Trauma-Informed Speech-Language Assessment Practices for Bilingual Children

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Kimberly Crespo (she/her/ella) is the Principal Investigator of the Bilingual Learning Lab (est. 2022) and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at Boston University. She is also affiliate faculty in the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development’s Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being. In 2024, Dr. Crespo was selected as one of eight faculty members to be named Junior Faculty Fellows of the Boston University Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

Kim Crespo receives an honorarium for this presentation.

Kim Crespo does not have any non-financial relationships to disclose.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly called upon to serve bilingual children with diverse linguistic, cultural, and lived experiences. Many of these children have also been impacted by trauma—whether acute, chronic, or complex—which can influence language development, behavior, and performance during assessment. At the same time, research on bilingualism continues to evolve, with growing evidence highlighting the normalcy of code-switching and the diverse pathways of bilingual language development. Unfortunately, traditional assessment tools and procedures often fail to account for either trauma histories or the dynamic nature of bilingualism, placing bilingual children at increased risk for misdiagnosis and inequitable service delivery.

This master class is designed to bridge that gap. We will explore the intersection of trauma-informed care and current research trends in bilingualism, with a particular emphasis on how these frameworks can—and must—inform assessment practices in speech-language pathology. The course will equip SLPs with practical strategies for integrating trauma-aware and culturally responsive approaches into their work with bilingual children and families.

The first part of the presentation will provide an overview of trauma-informed care (TIC) principles, drawing from interdisciplinary frameworks in education, social work, and healthcare. Participants will learn how trauma can affect attention, memory, and expressive language, and how these impacts may be misinterpreted as language impairment—especially in bilingual children.

The second part will focus on the latest research trends in bilingualism and code-switching, highlighting findings that normalize variation in bilingual language use. Key topics will include typical code-switching behaviors in young children, and the influence of language input and proficiency on language mixing. These findings will be directly tied to assessment implications, helping SLPs interpret bilingual children’s language behaviors with nuance and accuracy.

In the final segment, participants will be guided through clinical case studies to apply trauma-informed and research-based principles in assessment scenarios. We will examine strategies such as building safety and trust during interviews, adjusting assessment procedures for children who have experienced trauma, and using dynamic and narrative-based assessment approaches. We will also discuss the limitations of standardized tests and offer tools for supplementing assessment with observational data, language samples, and caregiver input.

Participants will be able to:
• Describe how trauma can influence language development and assessment outcomes
• Identify typical code-switching behaviors and other patterns of bilingual development
• Apply trauma-informed and culturally responsive strategies to the assessment of bilingual children
• Critically evaluate assessment tools and modify procedures to reduce bias and support equitable outcomes

Time-Ordered Agenda
10 minutes–Introductions and disclosures
15 minutes– Defining Trauma Informed Care (TIC) in SLP
15 minutes– Understanding Bilingualism and Code-switching
15 minutes– Integrating TIC and Culturally Responsive Assessment Practices
15 minutes– Case Studies: Applying the Framework
5 minutes- Summary & Closing
15 minutes- Moderated question and answer session