Abstract
Background: Working with linguistically and culturally diverse children with language disorders (LDs), including developmental language disorders, is part of the daily professional life of speech–language therapists (SLTs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and also increasingly common worldwide. For young children with language disorders, in particular, the support of the home language(s) in addition to the academic language is important to facilitate language growth and overall development, even though it may present significant challenges. In cases of cultural and linguistic clinician–client mismatches and limited resources, SLTs may want to apply indirect approaches to service delivery, for example, by involving peers from similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds in the intervention process. Methodology: This chapter provides a qualitative literary analysis of research evidence related to multilingual learners. Results: Language practices in educational settings in SSA countries and their consequences for multilingual learners are critically discussed. International research evidence regarding peer-assisted SLT services is reviewed. Discussion: Practical examples which point to important clinical implications when providing peer-assisted services for linguistically and culturally diverse children in SSA are given.
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Licandro, U., Abuom, T., Omari, D. (2023). Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children with Language Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Approaches to Service Delivery. In: Lüdtke, U.M., Kija, E., Karia, M.K. (eds) Handbook of Speech-Language Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04504-2_22
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