Supporting Spanish-Speaking Families with Children with Disabilities: Evaluating a Training and Coaching Program
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Supporting Spanish-Speaking Families with Children with Disabilities: Evaluating a Training and Coaching Program Hedda Meadan 1 & Nicole B. Adams 1 & Rebecca E. Hacker 1 & Saury Ramos-Torres 1 & Andrea Fanta 2 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Researchers report that caregiver-implemented communication interventions are effective and feasible. However, limited information is available on training and coaching programs for families who speak languages other than English in their homes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a parent training and coaching program originally designed to support English-speaking families, then translated and modified to support Spanish-speaking families with young children with disabilities or speech delays. Specifically, this preliminary evaluation explored the extent to which the program had an impact on the following outcomes for the seven Spanish-speaking caregiver participants: (a) enhanced knowledge of the target communication strategies, (b) enhanced application and correct use of the target communication strategies, and (c) understanding of the feasibility, satisfaction, and perceived impact of the program. Keywords Parent-implemented intervention . Spanish speaking families . Trainig and
coaching More than 60 million Americans, almost 20% of the population, consider a language other than English to be their primary language (U.S. Census Bureau 2014). When children are born into a bilingual home and have disabilities, language acquisition can become increasingly difficult if they are receiving services in a non-native language (Padilla et al. 2011). Researchers reported that some professionals have recommended that bilingual families speak exclusively in English with their children with disabilities (Jegatheesan 2011; Kohnert 2010; Lim et al. 2018). However, Lim et al. argued that the * Hedda Meadan [email protected]
1
Department of Special Education, University of Illinois, 1310 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
2
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, 905 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities
“recommendations that bilingual families speak in a single language appear to be based more on logical arguments than empirical evidence” (p. 2891). Researchers who argue against the recommendation for speaking exclusively in English have even reported that this recommendation could be detrimental to children with disabilities and their families (Lim et al. 2018). Language development is more difficult for children who are born into bilingual homes, have language delays or disabilities, and receive direct services in languages other than their home languages (Kohnert 2010). In general, instruction in a child’s home language has been shown to increase language acquisition and development (Ijalba 2015). In addition, asking caregivers who are not fluent in English to use only English to communicate with their children with disabilities
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