Difference Vs. Disorder - featured March 21, 2011
< Back to Previous PageDifference Vs. Disorder
By: Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Alejandro Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
The Regional Education Service Centers in the State of Texas are providing a series of presentations for speech-language pathologists in school districts throughout Texas focusing on language differences versus language disorders. Two first two parts of the four-part series have been completed. They addressed typical speech development in bilinguals and typical language development in bilinguals.
One of the charts that was very popular in the first presentation was the Venn diagram of the sounds of English and Spanish. The sounds in the middle of the Venn diagram exist in both English and Spanish, while those on the sides are unique to one language or the other. Overlapping sounds tend to be earlier developing sounds. This framework can be applied to any pair of languages. Information about the similarities and differences of the phonetic inventories of two languages can be readily found on the internet. You will find multiple sources so look for consistency between sources before you use the information to make clinical judgments.
To use the charts, look for the errors that your bilingual client/student makes. If you only identify errors on sounds that do not exist in the speaker’s native language, you are likely looking at a difference in speech production rather than a disorder.
It is also critically important to evaluate sound production in the native language, even if this has to be done informally. Research the sounds of the speaker’s native language and come up with a list of words for you or your interpreter to present. If your client does not make errors in their native language but they do in English on sounds that do not exist in their native language, they are likely experiencing language differences. If the client is making errors on sounds that exist in both languages that are not typical in development, they are likely experiencing atypical errors in sound production.
For a full set of handouts from the presentations, check the Live Workshops page at http://speechpathologyceus.net/live-work...entations/
This Month's Featured Authors:
Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Bilinguistics, Inc.
Alejandro Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Many thanks to Dr. Ellen Kester for providing this article for this months newsletter
Dr. Ellen Kester is a Founder and President of Bilinquistics, Inc. http://www.bilinguistics.com. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and her Bachelor's degree in Spanish at The University of Texas at Austin. She has provided bilingual Spanish/English speech-language services in schools, hospitals, and early intervention settings. Her research focus is on the acquisition of semantic language skills in bilingual children, with emphasis on assessment practices for the bilingual population. She has performed workshops and training seminars, and has presented at conferences both nationally and internationally. Dr. Kester teaches courses in language development, assessment and intervention of language disorders, early childhood intervention, and measurement at The University of Texas at Austin. She can be reached at
ellen.kester@bilinguistics.com
Dr. Alejandro E. Brice is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in Secondary/ESOL Education. His research has focused on issues of transference or interference between two languages in the areas of phonetics, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics related to speech-language pathology. In addition, his clinical expertise relates to the appropriate assessment and treatment of Spanish-English speaking students and clients. Please visit his website at http://www.stpete.usf.edu/coe/brice.htm or reach him by email at aebrice@mail.usf.edu
By: Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Alejandro Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
The Regional Education Service Centers in the State of Texas are providing a series of presentations for speech-language pathologists in school districts throughout Texas focusing on language differences versus language disorders. Two first two parts of the four-part series have been completed. They addressed typical speech development in bilinguals and typical language development in bilinguals.
One of the charts that was very popular in the first presentation was the Venn diagram of the sounds of English and Spanish. The sounds in the middle of the Venn diagram exist in both English and Spanish, while those on the sides are unique to one language or the other. Overlapping sounds tend to be earlier developing sounds. This framework can be applied to any pair of languages. Information about the similarities and differences of the phonetic inventories of two languages can be readily found on the internet. You will find multiple sources so look for consistency between sources before you use the information to make clinical judgments.
To use the charts, look for the errors that your bilingual client/student makes. If you only identify errors on sounds that do not exist in the speaker’s native language, you are likely looking at a difference in speech production rather than a disorder.
It is also critically important to evaluate sound production in the native language, even if this has to be done informally. Research the sounds of the speaker’s native language and come up with a list of words for you or your interpreter to present. If your client does not make errors in their native language but they do in English on sounds that do not exist in their native language, they are likely experiencing language differences. If the client is making errors on sounds that exist in both languages that are not typical in development, they are likely experiencing atypical errors in sound production.
For a full set of handouts from the presentations, check the Live Workshops page at http://speechpathologyceus.net/live-work...entations/
This Month's Featured Authors:
Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Bilinguistics, Inc.
Alejandro Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Many thanks to Dr. Ellen Kester for providing this article for this months newsletter
Dr. Ellen Kester is a Founder and President of Bilinquistics, Inc. http://www.bilinguistics.com. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and her Bachelor's degree in Spanish at The University of Texas at Austin. She has provided bilingual Spanish/English speech-language services in schools, hospitals, and early intervention settings. Her research focus is on the acquisition of semantic language skills in bilingual children, with emphasis on assessment practices for the bilingual population. She has performed workshops and training seminars, and has presented at conferences both nationally and internationally. Dr. Kester teaches courses in language development, assessment and intervention of language disorders, early childhood intervention, and measurement at The University of Texas at Austin. She can be reached at
ellen.kester@bilinguistics.com
Dr. Alejandro E. Brice is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in Secondary/ESOL Education. His research has focused on issues of transference or interference between two languages in the areas of phonetics, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics related to speech-language pathology. In addition, his clinical expertise relates to the appropriate assessment and treatment of Spanish-English speaking students and clients. Please visit his website at http://www.stpete.usf.edu/coe/brice.htm or reach him by email at aebrice@mail.usf.edu
Tags: Tip or Resources of Week Article Bilingualism Newsletter 25 March 2011
