Jump Start to Talk: Understanding Diverse Perspectives from Parents and Teachers to Rethink and Improve Identification, Referral, and Service for Dual Language Learner Late Talkers.

About This Grant

Background: Jump Start to Talk aims to understand culturally embedded perspectives of caregivers and early care and education (ECE) teachers from Spanish- and Haitian Creole-speaking communities regarding late talkers (LTs) who are dual language learners (DLLs). Using a dual-community comparative approach to examine both Hispanic and Haitian populations, this study addresses critical gaps in understanding LTs who face risks of persistent language delays and poor academic outcomes, heightened for DLLs due to misidentification and cultural-linguistic service access barriers. Approach: Using Israel et al.'s community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, we will leverage partnerships between the University of Miami and three local organizations: Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center (urban), Le Jardin Hispanic Community Center (rural), and Speech Pathology Educational Center (SPEC), serving families in both communities. We will co-design and co- implement the study with these community partners and their cultural brokers - trusted community members who share participants' linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Through purposive sampling of our network of 75 ECE centers serving Hispanic and Haitian families, we will identify 30 LT DLLs using culturally and linguistically appropriate screening approaches. We will interview their caregivers and 30 ECE teachers. Applying Sapiets et al.'s service access model and using the Framework Method for qualitative analysis, we will co-analyze interview data with our community partners to understand factors influencing service access from identification to provision, addressing two aims: Aim 1: Recognition and Identification of Late Talking: What are the perceptions of caregivers and teachers from two underserved communities regarding a) how they recognize and understand typical versus delayed language development in DLLs, and b) what factors influence their decisions about seeking services? Findings will directly inform development of culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools for identifying LTs in DLLs. Aim 2: Early Support Service Access: What barriers and facilitators do caregivers and teachers from two communities experience when attempting to access and engage with early support services (ranging from preventive monitoring and classroom-based supports to formal early intervention programs, community-based services, and parent-implemented language support strategies) for DLL LTs? Impact: These aims meet a high-priority research area for NICHD PAR-24-046 by examining identification and referral processes for LT DLLs from Spanish- and Haitian Creole-speaking backgrounds. The innovative dual- community approach and use of cultural brokers will inform the development of culturally responsive screening and referral processes, particularly addressing the needs of Haitian Creole-speaking communities where validated measures are currently lacking. .