| Abstract |
Speech-language pathology demographic data from 2021 reveals that 8.7% of providers identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or multiracial, with only 0.29% identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2022). Now more than ever, it is critical to increase the diversity of the field by recruiting and growing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In addition to that, all SLPs and those in training need to develop cultural humility and learn how to provide culturally congruent and evidence-based practices. This is especially true when working with peoples that have experienced historical trauma, such as Indigenous populations. Providing culturally congruent, evidence-based practice to Indigenous children is confounded by the fact that there remains a scarcity of research describing speech, language, and literacy interventions with this population (Guiberson & Vining, 2022; Vining & Guiberson, 2021). More research is needed in order to adequately address the communication and learning needs of Indigenous children. In this spirit, authors from diverse backgrounds were invited to write an article for the Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (LSHSS) Forum: Promoting Equity in Speech-Language Services With Indigenous Children. It is important to mention that this LSHSS forum also includes work representing service delivery to Indigenous groups from Canada and Central America. The focus of supporting best practice for Indigenous populations with communication disorders includes consideration for Indigenous communities beyond the U.S. borders.
There are several themes across the articles that have a significant impact on the work of SLPs in Indigenous communities. First, there is acknowledgment that historical and intergenerational trauma in Native American communities continues to be a major contributor to health, social, and educational disparities that impact the work of SLPs as they address the communication and literacy needs of children they serve. Second, the need for culturally responsive speech and language services to address the learning and developmental needs of Indigenous children in schools is evident. Native American children have had high rates of students with specific learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and speech-language impairments, yet there is a lack of scholarly work addressing evidence practice and the learning needs of Indigenous children.
In this forum, promoting equity in speech-language services with Indigenous children includes understanding the impact of historical trauma and contributing factors that have led to inequities and disparities in health, social conditions, and education. Native perspectives on education, language, and literacy practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive are important. In addition, equitable services also entail understanding communication styles and interactions that support language socialization in Indigenous communities. Speech and language issues with specific focus on Diné people, Oglala tribe, and Mayan immigrant children provide unique perspectives of the impact and the role of language and culture on service delivery. Finally, equity also requires increasing Native American representation in the profession of speech-language pathology and developing speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) to support cultural competency in service delivery.
The first article provides an overview of the connection between historical trauma and educational inequities. The next three articles focus on specific populations including the Diné, Mayan immigrant children, and a child from the Oglala community. The next article focuses on the need for expanding Native American SLPAs and their contribution to promoting cultural competency and culturally responsive speech-language practices in Indigenous communities. The final article focuses on a study regarding shared book reading with Native American caregivers.
First, the article by Joshuaa D. Allison-Burbank and Traci Reid (2022), “Prioritizing Connectedness and Equity in Speech-Language Services for American Indian and Alaska Native Children,” provides a background on the impact of historical trauma, language and cultural loss, and racism on childrearing, language development, and learning. Allison-Burbank and Reid address the use of an Indigenous connectedness framework to promote community healing and restoration of traditional practices and well-being.
Second, the article by Davis E. Henderson (2022), “Diné Bizaad at a Glance,” aims to educate SLPs who work with Navajo children about Navajo speech and language. Henderson describes the use of Navajo-Influenced English, which may adversely affect speech and language assessment results. Henderson provides an overview of the Navajo language (phonetics, tone, morphology, and syntax) so that SLPs may become familiar with linguistic differences. He also calls for more studies describing the characteristics of Navajo-Influenced English in Navajo children's speech/language production.
Third, the article by Amalia W. Hernández, Iván Campos, and Karen Zuniga Zyskind (2022), “Considerations in Utilizing Translanguaging Practices to Meet the Language Needs of Maya Children in U.S. Schools,” addresses the cultural and linguistic needs of Maya Indigenous children. The authors describe systemic barriers that Maya Indigenous students and their families experience in U.S. schools. They further discuss a translanguaging approach to support the language needs of Maya Indigenous children and to recognize their intersectional identities.
Fourth, the article by Janet Callahan and Elizabeth K. Hanson (2023), “Reconnecting Indigenous Language for a Child Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication,” describes the process of developing an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system for a child who is exposed to the Lakota language. The authors highlight the importance of developing culturally and linguistically appropriate symbols and programming a device that is appropriate for speakers of the Lakota. The article has significant clinical implications for developing AAC systems that reflect appropriate teaching strategies to increase communicative competence with AAC in other Indigenous languages.
In the fifth article, “Native American Speech-Language Pathology Assistants: Expanding Culturally Responsive Services in Reservation Schools,” Jeffrey C. Meeks (2022) presents his tutorial for expansion of SLPAs in Indigenous communities. Meeks argues that by increasing representation of Native American professionals as SLPAs, cultural competency practices (e.g., cultural norms, tribal customs, tribal languages and dialects) support culturally responsive practices, increase quality services, and decrease misdiagnosis and overidentification. Meeks describes the process for ways the school-based SLPs can grow SLPAs in schools serving Native American students.
In the concluding article, authors Mark Guiberson and Kyliah Petrita Ferris (2022) describe their study on interactions in shared book reading interactions in their article, “Native American Caregiver–Child Shared Book Reading Interactions: A Descriptive Study and Integrative Review.” The authors discuss potential culturally responsive early language and literacy intervention strategies for Native American caregivers (primarily Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone) and their children. Their descriptive study involved analysis of language behaviors and shared book interactions of Native American caregivers with their children. Results showed that caregivers' shared book behaviors were associated with caregivers' vocabulary usage and children's shared book behaviors. They concluded that promising language and early literacy strategies included, for example, play-based strategies, teaching new words, questioning strategies, and using descriptive language. |
, Mark Guiberson 
