I’d noticed that this helped him engage with the material and considered the same in searching for help.Ĭultural differences between the therapist and client could potentially have a considerable impact on whether the client receives the correct type of help, or even in determining if they have a speech or language condition at all. Representation has always been important in our household a lot of books and media we consume include diverse characters. As a Black mother, it was important to me that he worked with someone he could relate to and see himself in.
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Luckily, one of my son’s speech therapists was Black. This is also one of the main reasons that children do not receive speech therapy: plenty of parents lack knowledge about available resources or don’t even realize that their kid is in need.Ĭurrently, approximately 80% of speech and language pathologists are white.Only about 4.5% are Black. It was concerning to me how I had heard very little about the topic.
#ISPEAK BLACK SPEECHIN BLACK SPEECH HOW TO#
It’s not hard to imagine how many children who speak AAE might be diagnosed with a speech disorder, when a better method would be teaching them how to code switch. Speech and language impairment, disorders that affect children who do not experience intellectual disabilities or hearing loss, is the highest-ranking disability in children 5 or younger, and the second highest in children and young adults ages 6 through 21. Through research, I learned that children of color are significantly less likely to receive aid with specific language impairment than their white counterparts.
#ISPEAK BLACK SPEECHIN BLACK SPEECH FULL#
While he was working with his therapist, I worked in the lobby.Īs his speech progressed, so did my interest in the full realm of speech and language therapy. His sessions interfered with my work schedule, but I’d do anything to get him whatever he needs. Twice a week, every Monday and Wednesday, I packed up my son and my laptop and we headed to the office. I had reservations, given that we were still in the middle of the pandemic, but I knew that providing him with assistance as early as possible was imperative to his growth. We were able to find a speech and language facility fairly quickly. I also took comfort in the fact that help was available to him. No matter how deeply I had hoped for my child to be perfect, no one is.
In a sense, I went through the five stages of grief: denial (thinking that his issues with speech would go away on their own) anger (believing that, in some way, this was my fault, and I had failed him as a parent) bargaining (praying that the problem would go away by just having more conversations throughout the day) and depression (a deep worry that people would view my son differently or, worse, think that he was “less than”). Realizing that your child is not as “perfect” as you see them to be is a humbling process. My own biggest struggle was the realization that, in order to thrive to his fullest ability, my son needed to be enrolled in speech and language therapy. Aside from the big societal issues, a lot of us experienced issues in our own homes, too. Let’s face it: 2020 was one of the worst years many of us have lived through.