School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, CA.
Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2023 Apr 3;54(2):618-635. doi: 10.1044/2023_LSHSS-22-00123. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
There is a shortage of bilingual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States. For Vietnamese, less than 1% of SLPs speak the language compared with a Vietnamese American population of > 2.1 million. This study examines the feasibility and social validity of remote child language assessment with the help of a caregiver to address the need for first language assessments among Vietnamese-speaking children.
Twenty-one dyads of caregivers and typically developing children (aged 3-6 years) completed two assessment sessions in their first language, Vietnamese, using Zoom videoconferencing. Sessions were counterbalanced between two conditions in which either the clinician or the caregiver was the task administrator. Children's language samples were elicited using narrative tasks. Social validity was also assessed through caregiver and child questionnaires at the end of each session.
There were no significant differences between conditions on language sample measures nor the measures of social validity. Both caregivers and their children felt positively about the sessions. The caregivers' feelings were related to their perception of children's feelings about the sessions. Children's feelings were related to their Vietnamese language proficiency, caregiver-reported language ability, and whether they were born outside of the United States.
Findings build the evidence base for telepractice as an effective and socially valid service delivery model for bilingual children in the United States. This study supports the potential for caregivers as task administrators in a telepractice setting, making assessment in a child's first language more feasible and accessible. Future investigation is needed to extend results to bilingual populations with disorders.
美国双语言语病理学家（SLP）短缺。与超过 210 万的越南裔美国人相比，会说越南语的 SLP 不足 1%。本研究通过照顾者的帮助，检查远程儿童语言评估的可行性和社会有效性，以满足越南裔儿童对母语评估的需求。
21 对照顾者和发育正常的儿童（3-6 岁）使用 Zoom 视频会议完成了两次母语（越南语）评估。会话在两种条件之间进行平衡，一种条件下由临床医生担任任务管理员，另一种条件下由照顾者担任任务管理员。使用叙事任务引出儿童的语言样本。在每个会话结束时，还通过照顾者和儿童的问卷评估社会有效性。
在语言样本测量和社会有效性测量方面，两种条件之间没有显著差异。照顾者及其子女对会议均持积极态度。照顾者的感受与他们对孩子对会议感受的看法有关。孩子的感受与他们的越南语水平、照顾者报告的语言能力以及他们是否出生在美国境外有关。
这些发现为远程实践作为美国双语儿童有效和具有社会有效性的服务提供模式提供了证据基础。本研究支持在远程实践环境中让照顾者担任任务管理员的潜力，使对儿童母语的评估更加可行和易于获得。需要进一步的研究来将结果扩展到有障碍的双语人群。
