As we close out the month of April 2022, we complete our 20^th year at Bilinguistics serving culturally and linguistically diverse learners and individuals with communication disorders. It’s hard to believe that it was 20 years ago that a handful of us (Dr. Christine Fiestas, Dr. Rachel Aghara, Dr. Brenda Gorman, and Dr. Ellen Kester) sat at a dining room table and sketched plans for this company. Dr. Brenda Gorman and I officially kicked off the company at the end of April 2002 with this mission:

We are dedicated to enhancing speech and language services for Spanish-English bilingual children, enabling them to achieve their highest academic and communicative potential.

We’ve revised it slightly over the 20 years to:

We are dedicated to enhancing speech and language services for ALL children, regardless of their linguistic or cultural background, enabling them to achieve their highest academic and communicative potential.

The Bilinguistics Team has Done Amazing Things in 20 Years!

I am proud of our team’s accomplishments in upholding this mission for the more than 7,000 days that we have been in business. Here are some of the highlights of things we have done to support our culturally and linguistically diverse students, clients, and families:

We’ve written The Speech Therapy Blog, which is 30,000 subscribers strong.

We’ve created a blog with the goals of building a community and helping our field support diverse learners. We’ve published 350 blog posts. Here are three that have been viewed more than 50,000 times each:

Articulation Norms for Spanish and English

Articulation Errors and Dual Language Learners

Phonological Processes—English and Spanish Differences

We’ve been actively engaged in making research on individuals with communication disorders and CLD learners meaningful and accessible for SLPs.

We’ve published numerous peer reviewed articles and book chapters. One of our most recent book chapters is in a medical text for physicians in training to describe how speech language pathologists and physicians collaborate in serving adolescents and young adults with communication disorders and other neurodevelopmental differences. Here are our four most recent chapters/journal articles:

•  Kester, E. S. (2022). Online Language Assessment of School-Age Students. Topics in Language Disorders
•                   Peña, E. D., Kester, E. S., & Sheng, L. (2022).  Semantic development in Spanish-English Bilinguals:  Theory, Assessment, and Intervention.  In B. Goldstein (Ed.) Bilingual Language Development and Disorders in Spanish-English Speakers, Third Edition.  Philadelphia, Brookes.
•                   Neavel, C., Kester, E., & Gonzalez, K (2022). Neurodevelopment differences and disorders in adolescents and young adults. In Neinstein, L. S. (Ed.) Adolescent and Young Adult Health Care: A Practical Guide, 7th Edition.
•                   Kester, E. S. (2018).  Speech-Language Pathologists Engaging in Interprofessional Practice: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts.  Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, SIG 16, vol 3 (Part 1), 20-26. 

We’ve written books designed to help SLP’s serve diverse learners.

We’ve published 10 books in the past 20 years. Here are the three most popular:

Difference or Disorder: Understanding Speech and Language Patterns in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Literacy-Based Speech and Language Therapy Activities

Curriculum-Based Therapy Activities

We’ve created a membership community to engage with SLPs and provide them with consistent professional development and resources.

We’ve created a membership site, SLP Impact, with monthly presentations and Q & A discussions, Training Videos, a Library of Online Courses, and Loads of Templates and Resources. If you haven’t come on board yet, join us:

 

We’ve provided live professional development workshops on cultural and linguistic diversity in the field of Speech-Language Pathology.

We’ve conducted hundreds of live professional development workshops throughout the United States, as well as in Mexico, Asia, Europe, and Central America. Plus, in 2021, we started a partnership with the award-winning travel company, Therapy Abroad, to offer some amazing opportunities to engage in professional development opportunities in amazing countries.

 

 

Bilinguistics Live Professional Development Workshops

Bilinguistics and Therapy Abroad Partnership to Offer Study Abroad Continuing Education Opportunities for Professionals

We’ve developed free resources to support SLPs and other educators.

We’ve shared hundreds of resources in our Resources Library for SLPs. Here are the ones that have been downloaded more than 15,000 times each:

Analysis of Formal and Informal Bilingual Expressive Language Assessments

Articulation Norms for Spanish and English

Spanish IEP Annual Meeting Script

Assessment of Fictional Narratives

IEP/ARD Meeting Vocabulary

We’ve Supported Individuals with Communication Disorders across Many Settings

We’ve worked in school districts, early childhood agencies, hospitals, universities, and clinics.

We’ve Hosted Interactive Conferences with Experts in the Field

We’ve started hosting a biannual conference to support those who work in the field of speech-language pathology and related professions, such as school psychologists and reading specialists.

Here are some of the amazing speakers who have joined us.

We’ve Made a Positive Impact on the Lives of People With Communication Disorders

And most importantly, we have made a positive impact on the lives of thousands and thousands of children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Thanks to each and every one of you who have been a part of the ride! Here’s to 20 more years!

Thank you to all of you in the speech-language pathology community who have supported us in our mission.

Thank You to our Team!

In our 20 years in business we have had more than 60 team members who have contributed to our mission. We are grateful to all of the kind and respectful team members who have contributed to our mission to support individuals from diverse backgrounds and individuals with communication disorders. And last but certainly not least, a very special thank you to these three individuals who have been a strong part of leading Bilinguistics for more than a decade!

With my most sincere gratitude,

Ellen Stubbe Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP