ABSTRACT
We present a review of the empirical literature at the intersection of bilingualism
and pediatric communication disorders. A computer search of six electronic databases
was done to identify studies published in English since 1950 that directly investigated
some aspect of speech, language, or cognitive performance in developing bilinguals
and children with communication impairments. The computer search yielded 116 nonduplicated
articles, the first published in 1978. An article review by the authors further reduced
the number of studies meeting search criteria to 64. A majority of studies focused
on primary developmental language impairment (LI) and children learning two languages
sequentially. Spanish and English were the most frequent combination of languages
for bilingual participants. Collective study findings are presented with respect to
trends, clinical implications, and areas for future research.
KEYWORDS
Communication disorders - language impairment - speech impairment - ELL - second-language
learners
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Kathryn KohnertPh.D. CCC-SLP
Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, 115 Shelvin Hall
164 Pillsbury Dr., S.E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Email: kohne005@umn.edu