This Perspectives course focuses on clinical considerations for working with children and adults from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Topics presented include (a) effects of clear speech on perceptions of accentedness in American English, (b) ethnographic interviewing in clinical practice, (c) language errors in bilinguals under background noise and quiet conditions, and (d) assessment of speech sound disorders in school-aged children from CLD backgrounds.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• describe the effect of clear speech on intelligibility, ease of understanding, and accentedness of nonnative speakers of American English
• explain the role of cultural competence in service delivery in the discipline of communication sciences and disorders
• explain why bilinguals may exhibit difficulty accurately interpreting speech in the presence of background noise
• describe the steps as part of an assessment of speech sound disorders for school-aged children from multilingual backgrounds

DEI Professional Development Requirement

This course counts toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for DEI (which encompasses cultural competency; cultural humility; culturally responsive practice; and diversity, equity, and inclusion). See more courses that count toward this requirement or read more about professional development requirements for certification maintenance.