Language Disorders in Bilingual Children and Adults

In separate chapters, the book synthesizes the literature on bilingual children and adults with typical and atypical language skills. These chapters give the reader a deep understanding of the multiple factors that affect language development and disorders in those who rely on two languages for meaningful interactions. Chapters on assessment and intervention issues and methods are then presented for each population.

For children, the text focuses on developmental language disorder but also discusses secondary language disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder) in bilingual populations. For adults, the focus is on aphasia, with additional discussion of dementia, traumatic brain injury, and right hemisphere disorder. Although child and adult, typical and atypical populations are presented separately, all are considered within a unifying Dynamic Interactive Processing perspective and within a new Means-Opportunities-Motives framework for understanding language disorders in bilinguals. This broad theoretical framework emphasizes interactions between social, cognitive, and communicative systems to form the basis for very practical implications related to assessment and intervention.

This third edition has been completely updated to reflect the current research on bilingual populations and the best practices for working with them. Studies at the intersection of bilingualism and language disorders have expanded to include additional disorders and new language combinations. The authors synthesize the current literature and translate it for clinical use.

New to the Third Edition

•    Coauthors Kerry Danahy Ebert, PhD, CCC-SLP and Giang Thuy Pham, PhD, CCC-SLP
•    Updated literature review and references to reflect new research on bilingualism, cultural competence, cognitive advantages and clinical practice with linguistically diverse populations
•    Case studies on assessment with bilingual children and adults 
•    Additional tables and figures summarizing key information 
•    Available evidence on additional child and adult language disorders in bilinguals
•    Updated extension activities and resource supplement
•    A PluralPlus Companion Website with PowerPoint slides for instructors

With its updated content and new features, Language Disorders in Bilingual Children and Adults, Third Edition, is a must-have resource for any SLP who works with bilingual children or adults.

Review

"The purpose of the book is to provide the most up-to-date information on the subject of bilingual children and adults and how to differentiate between those that have a language disorder and a language difference. The book's main focus is on the intersection of two populations - bilinguals and those with a language disorder. With an increasing growth in bilinguals and a shortage of bilingual SLPs, this resource is very needed.
The intended audience for this book is speech-language pathologists, graduate students, and clinical researchers, and any other professionals interested in supporting bilingual individuals.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section, entitled "Foundational Issues," covers three chapters that explain different perspectives on bilingualism, language proficiency, cultural competence, and EBP factors. Section 2 is specifically on bilingual children with four chapters, and section 3 is on bilingual adults also covered in four chapters. Each of these sections explains how to adequately and effectively assess and treat bilingual individuals.
As a pediatric SLP, one of my areas of interest is the appropriate and effective assessment of bilingual children. As a professor, I teach about both children and bilingual adults. Having a resource that covers both of these populations is very beneficial. The textbook provides an updated evidence-based approach to serving this population. With a continued growth in bilingual individuals, having a resource that focuses on assessment and treatment is very much needed in the field of speech-language pathology."
—Yvana Uranga-Hernandez, PhD, CCC-SLP, Biola University, in Doody's Reviews (March 2021)