How does speech therapy work for children whose families don't speak English at home?

Children from families who speak another language at home can and should get speech therapy that respects that language. Speech-Language & Audiology Canada's position is that children with, or at risk of, a language disorder should get the support they need to become bilingual, and should not be counselled out of learning more than one language. Its position statement notes that switching to English only can lead to loss of the home language and weaker communication within the family. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is equally clear that being multilingual is not a communication disorder.

What good care looks like:

• Assessment across languages: signs of a true communication disorder show up in all the languages a child uses, although they can look different in each. English tests that are simply translated may give misleading scores, so the speech-language pathologist (SLP) should use other information too, including what you see at home.

• Trained interpreters: when the SLP does not speak your language, they should work with a trained interpreter. ASHA notes that untrained interpreters can unintentionally change meaning, and advises caution about children interpreting, because young people may not have the maturity a clinical conversation needs.

• Shared decisions: the SLP should decide with you which language or languages to use in therapy, giving weight to your family's priorities.

• Keep using your home language: SAC notes that strong skills in a first language support learning a second one, so keep talking, reading and singing in the language you are most comfortable with.

If you have concerns about your child's speech or language in any language, contact a registered speech-language pathologist and ask how they assess children who speak more than one language.