Page 97 - Difference or Disorder Digital Version

Difference or Disorder?

I remember having conversations with friends in both languages. At the time not

knowing the term for what we were doing, code‐switching, but, in our case it was not because

of a lack of vocabulary in one language or the other. We did it to emphasize certain words or

for humor. And to us, it was just…normal.

I took being bilingual for granted, always assuming that it would not be useful in my

career, as the language of my formal education was in English. It was not until I moved away

for college that I realized that being bilingual was needed in places that did not have such a

seamless blend of cultures. It opened my eyes to the fact that I could help people, children

and parents, who spoke Spanish like me. I became proud of my culture, instead of taking it

for granted. When I assess bilingual children or have therapy sessions in Spanish, I can use the

knowledge of my upbringing AND my formal education to make judgments and decisions

regarding language differences and disorders.

Patricia Villarreal, Bilingual Speech‐Language Pathologist

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