Numbers of bilingual children in speech and language therapy

Abstract

Both under-representati on and over-representation of bilingual children exist in different contexts of speech and language therapy(SLT) provision. The research on which this paper is based investigated possible influences on “ misrepresentation ” in England. This paper explores concepts behind measuring the representation of bilingual children in SLT, with relevance to other services, and discusses practicalities. Telephone interviews were conducted with speech and language therapists (SLTs) or their managers in nine SLT departments. In case studies of two SLT departments face-to-face interviews then explored misrepresentation. In different contexts relative numbers of bilingual and monolingual children receiving SLT were compared with a) each other, and b) their proportions in the general population. Findings showed that SLTs' and managers' perceptions of the linguistic composition of caseload and population were unreliable. Interviewees' views on the importance of finding out numbers of children speaking different languages and the barriers to collecting such data are considered. This information can strongly support proposals for a bilingual co-worker which may, in turn, improve bilingual clients' representation. Methodological difficulties in conducting numerical comparisons are described, along with solutions. Comparisons of caseload and population data are recommended in SLT, other services, and to researchers. They illuminate linguistic demography, highlight those missing out and the resulting theorization stimulates practical solutions to misrepresentation.

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