While there is research demonstrating the importance of supporting the home language and culture of bilingual children, there is a lack of implementation of protocols and strategies to provide this support. The use of the home language should not be restricted to evaluation, but should be utilized during intervention activities.

Involving the home language and culture allows for interaction with family members (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents) and promotes the autonomy of family members and pertinent community allies during the intervention process. Moreover, the therapeutic relationship can be built solidly in that the families’ cultural perspectives are respected and included in the planning and implementation of therapy goals and objectives (e.g., Verdon et al.,2016)

According to research, support of the home language in home and school contexts is important for the development of Spanish language skills, while support in English at home is not necessary for the development of English language skills (Duursma et. al., 2007). A recent systematic review of language interventions for young children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds identified four areas of focus (Larson et al., 2019). These were “explicit instruction on targeted skills; classroom curriculum interventions; interactive book reading and/or book making interventions; and naturalistic, routines-based interventions” (Larson et al., 2019, p. 160). Most of the interventions dealt with vocabulary and others included other aspects of language. For most of the studies, while the home language of the children (mainly Spanish) was utilized, their cultures were not taken into consideration. Interventions that include the home language and culture can be effectively done using strategies such as shared book reading.

For effective collaborations with parents, a concerted effort, with initiative from different professionals is essential. Often the SLP is the most appropriate candidate to coordinate the collaboration to provide for culturally responsive implementation of children’s goals and objectives. For example, the SLP can suggest appropriate books and how they can best be used at home and at school (Swasey Washington, 2015). This presentation will focus on supporting the language and culture of bilingual children and their families, through collaboration across professionals and caregivers to provide effective interventions.

Participants will be able to:
• State three ways the home language and culture can be supported
• Discuss methods of fostering collaboration among educational professionals to support the home language and culture
• Describe collaborative procedures among educational professionals and parents that help to support the home language and culture
• List three strategies for encouraging shared book reading with bilingual children.

Time-Ordered Agenda
10 minutes-Introduction and disclosures
15 minutes- Importance of supporting the home language of bilingual children
10 minutes- The relevance of culture for bilingual children and their families
10 minutes- Building an SLP-teacher interprofessional relationship to support the bilingual child
10 minutes- Building an SLP/teacher-parent relationship to support the bilingual child
15 minutes- Ways of supporting the home language and culture of the bilingual child with interprofessional collaboration
5 minutes- Closing
15 minutes – Moderated Q&A session