Parent Corner: Q & A – Common questions parents ask when their child begins speech therapy

Parents have expressed their concern about providing speech therapy in a language that is not their home language. The fear of their child forgetting their home language can be concerning. In America, the education system provides the majority of its teachings in English. There are some schools that offer bilingual programs. The fact that most children are surrounded by the English language most of their day at school or by older siblings at home, does assist in them learning the language. Leading to commonly hearing questions that express a parent’s concern over the language their child’s speech services will be delivered.  

Q: Will my child forget his or her home language? 

A: Children can experience language loss when there is a lack of exposure to that language.  Some key factors for maintaining one’s language skills is daily practice and frequent exposure to the language(s).  

Q: Can my child’s therapy be in our home language? 

A: It depends. The language(s) used in therapy are selected after a full speech and language evaluation is completed by a speech-language pathologist. The language(s) used in therapy will be selected based on the child’s skill level in and exposure to each language.  

Q: Can therapy be in English, so my child learns the language better.  

A: In the benefit of your child, it is best to deliver speech therapy in the language the speech-language pathologist deems most appropriate based on results from their evaluation. Children that know more than one language have a unique ability to learn/know/understand a second or multiple languages.  

Q: Is a speech therapist a language teacher?   

A: No.  Speech and language professionals are licensed, and often certified, clinicians that specialize in treating communication skill deficiencies. While speech and language professionals work with those who have or are suspected to have communication disorders, language teachers generally work to teach a new language.    

Q: How does a speech-language pathologist decide which language to provide speech services to best target the child’s speech and language deficits?  

A: A speech-language pathologist will evaluate the child’s understanding and use of all languages to which a child is exposed. The results of the evaluation form the basis for many decisions that are made for therapy–in this case, the language of delivery.