Communication Disorders in Spanish Speakers

Theoretical, Research and Clinical Aspects

Edited by Dr. José G. Centeno, Dr. Raquel T. Anderson, Loraine K. Obler

Publication date:

11 July 2007

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781853599729

Spanish speakers, whether in monolingual or bilingual situations, or in majority or minority contexts, represent a considerable population worldwide. Spanish speakers in the U.S. constitute an illustrative context of the challenges faced by speech-language practitioners to provide realistic services to an increasing and diverse Spanish-speaking caseload. There is still considerable paucity in the amount of literature on Hispanic individuals with clinical relevance in speech-language pathology. Particularly lacking are works that link both empirical and theoretical bases to evidence-based procedures for child and adult Spanish users with communication disorders. Further, because communication skills depend on multiple phenomena beyond strictly linguistic factors, speech-language students and practitioners require multidisciplinary bases to realistically understand Spanish clients’ communication performance. This volume attempts to address those gaps. This publication takes a multidisciplinary approach that integrates both theoretical and empirical grounds from Speech-Language Pathology, Neurolinguistics, Neuropsychology, Education, and Clinical Psychology to develop evidence-based clinical procedures for monolingual Spanish and bilingual Spanish-English children and adults with communication disorders.

Introduction

Part I Preliminary Considerations

1. Contrastive Analysis between Spanish and English – R.T. Anderson and J. G. Centeno

2. English Language Learners: Literacy and Biliteracy Considerations – H. Kayser and J. G. Centeno

3. Bilingual Development and Communication – J. G. Centeno

4. Neurolinguistic Aspects of Bilingualism – M. R. Gitterman and H. Datta

5. Sociocultural, Societal, and Psychological Aspects of Bilingualism – A. Z. Brozgold and J. G. Centeno

6. Cross-linguistic Research: The Convergence of Monolingual and Bilingual Data – R. T. Anderson

7. The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Language Disorders among Spanish Speakers – B. Stuart Weekes

8. Ethical and Methodological Considerations in Clinical Communication Research with Hispanic Populations – J.G. Centeno and W. Gingerich

Part II Research in Children: Conceptual, Methodological, Empirical, and Clinical Considerations

9. Exploring the Grammar of Spanish-speaking Children with Specific Language Impairment – R. T. Anderson

10. Language Elicitation and Analysis as a Research and Clinical Tool for Latino Children – M. Adelaida Restrepo and A. P. Castilla

11. Utterance Length Measures for Spanish-speaking Toddlers - D. Jackson-Maldonado and B.T. Conboy

12. Lexical Skills in Young Children Learning a Second Language - K. Kohnert and Pui Fong Kan

13. Measuring Phonological Skills in Bilingual Children – B. A. Goldstein

Part III Research in Adults: Empirical Evidence and Clinical Implications

14. Prepositional Processing in Spanish Speakers with Aphasia – B. A. Reyes

15. Cohesion in the Conversational Samples of Broca’s Aphasic Individuals – L. G. Pietrosemoli

16. Language Switching in the Context of Spanish-English Bilingual Aphasia – A.I. Ansaldo and K. Marcotte

17. Description and Detection of Acquired Dyslexia and Dysgraphia in Spanish - I. Carolina Iribarren

18. Crosslinguistic Aspects of Dyslexia in Spanish-English Bilinguals – E. Ijalba and L. K. Obler

19. Neuropsychological Profile of Adult Illiterates and the Development and Application of a Neuropsychological Program for Learning to Read – F. Ostrosky-Solís, A. Lozano, M. J. Ramírez, and A. Ardila

20. Phonetic Descriptions of Speech Production in Bilingual Speakers – F. Bell-Berti

Epilogue – L. K. Obler

To say that this book is welcomed is without a doubt an understatement. Apparently, from the book’s earliest beginnings, Drs. Centeno, Anderson and Obler chose to focus on the big picture, selecting their contributors to include impressive sampling of the best researchers and thinkers in the field. They have been successful in producing a true Sourcebook, which deserves the attention of anyone who is serious about understanding the special strengths and problems facing language and speech disordered Spanish speakers. This is monumental and desperately needed achievement.