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Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn LettersBrooklyn Letters

1139 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn

4.9 56 reviews

  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Emily Matles ★★★★★ a week ago
    We would highly recommend Ally! Our son always asks about her, so very thankful to Brooklyn Letters for introducing us.
    ~ Emily, mom of Brooklyn 2 year old
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters T Ainsley ★★★★★ 5 months ago
    I cannot express how grateful and rewarding my experience with Brooklyn Letters has been. Her tutor Ms. Daria is so knowledgeable, amazing, kind and awesome. My daughter has made so much progress in Literacy and Math and it's all … More thanks to Ms. Daria. I know my daughter is sad that she can no longer work with Ms. Daria, as she looked forward to their sessions every week. Thank you again!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Natalie Levon ★★★★★ 4 months ago
    Nicole has been an amazing therapist!! She played a tremendous role in our daughter’s speech progress and overall development. She has come such a long way and we are so happy with the therapy she received!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Colin Peters ★★★★★ 6 months ago
    We could not be happier with the services Valerie provided! She is very thoughtful and knowledgeable and provided significant guidance to support our daughter's speech development outside of our scheduled sessions. She established … More a great working relationship with her, and she will definitely be missed! Your business model is amazing and it was an absolute pleasure working with Valerie. I've referred your organization and Valerie to the Executive Director of our daughter's school and friends/colleagues who are in need of speech therapy services.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Lil Amatore ★★★★★ 7 months ago
    Christina was absolutely wonderful. She went out of her way to win my son over and it worked. He looked forward to her visits and his speech improved so much under her care. She was super flexible and it’s clear she truly cares. We adore … More Christina and we’re going to miss her. Almost sad he improved so much! She’s simply amazing and we can’t say enough how great she is. I would recommend her services to anyone and everyone, without hesitation. Thank you so much for connecting us with her!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Heather Liljengren ★★★★★ a year ago
    We cannot say enough good things about Effie, the ASL teacher, who was so engaged and effective with our 2 year old daughter from the very first session! Effie gladly included our whole family in the sessions! Her expertise and fantastic … More personality gave our daughter a way to communicate that she was so desperately seeking. The coordinators at Brooklyn Letters were so helpful and communicative…I would highly recommend their services!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Brigid Bower ★★★★★ 11 months ago
    Samantha Dalmas was fantastic! We saw her for a feeding therapy evaluation and while she doesn’t think my daughter needs more feeding therapy sessions at this time, but she gave me lots of tips to try. If my daughter's doctors want … More to see more progress at her next appointment, I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to Samantha again.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Duygu Başaran ★★★★★ 11 months ago
    Brooklyn Letters was recommended to me through a friend's speech therapist friend in NJ. The articulation evaluation for my daughter went well. We were pleased with Kristin's services.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Kelley Peters-Patel ★★★★★ a year ago
    Melissa was wonderful. Our daughter warmed to her immediately and by the time she left, had already started "practicing" some of the techniques Melissa had shown her. I will not hesitate at all to reach out to Melissa again, should … More the need arise.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters R Elmore ★★★★★ a year ago
    Aileen was INCREDIBLY helpful to us, both in assessing possible origins of my grandson's food aversions, as well as informing us of various available interventions to consider.
    I can’t thank you and Brooklyn Letters enough for connecting
    … More us with Aileen. In all our feeding therapy journey we have not gotten anything near the kind of benefit that we did from her. Her knowledge, professionalism, and responsiveness have put us on the path of progress with my grandson and has also made us feel genuinely well cared for.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Christine Weiher ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    We were amazed with Allison! She met my son at 2 1/2 years old, not speaking much at all, and over a computer, and she was able to develop a bond and friendship, so much so that he would look forward to his weekly computer time with Allison. … More I was not sure how the speech therapy would go- but we are so happy that we tried it out and continued. It allowed my son to gain confidence in his speech, make a new friend :), and also give him the skills and a bit of understanding of how to shape his mouth or where to place his tongue to make the proper sounds. We were extremely happy with Allison- she was fantastic to work with.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Andrea Saffady ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    My sessions with Karen have been extremely helpful. My speech has improved tremendously. In fact, I just finished 2 hours of conducting interviews with a consulting client via MS Teams and I have an upcoming conference call. Both my … More neurologist and neurosurgeon remarked about how good my speech is. Much of the day it is perfect, although I still have some rough spots when I get tired or speak too quickly. One of my granddaughters is a speech pathology student at Ithaca College. She sat in on 2 sessions while she was home for winter break, and she was very impressed with Karen.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Jacob B ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We were delighted with Christie. First, and most importantly, our son made great strides under her guidance. So great, that we felt he no longer needed help! She was incredibly patient and kind with him and our son really responded to … More her. Christie was also great with me and my wife. She provided thorough and informative updates on our son's progress and which exercises she was using with him, so we could reinforce what she was teaching him. All in all, we had a fabulous experience with Christie and would highly recommend her.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Jessica C ★★★★★ a year ago
    Theo was wonderful and his work with my son has produced some progress. I am grateful for the services Theo provided.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Melissa Stevens ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Highly recommend Jill. She is a total pleasure to work with. After a few months working with Jill, my son is reading above grade level and LOVES to read. Mission accomplished!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Demet Evren ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Paige was great and we had been really happy with her. I would highly recommend her! I recommend Brooklyn Letters to whomever asks for a speech therapist.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Jeizel Rosenthal ★★★★★ 2 years ago
    Isabel was WONDERFUL and our son absolutely adored her, and he is making great progress with his reading and writing.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Lesley Duval ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    Theo was fantastic with our 4yo son. We were very worried that his progress would fall off when we had to switch to remote sessions, but Theo kept our son happy and engaged through the screen. Highly highly recommend!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Samantha Packard ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    We've been working with Theo from Brooklyn Letters for close to 4 months now and the results are apparent; our daughter has vastly improved her speech in a relatively short amount of time. We make "Theo Day" a celebration … More in our house with pancakes for breakfast, and the enthusiasm is matched in the sessions. Theo is fun, patient, professional, and caring, and he gives us the tools to take the lessons beyond the session. Thank you Theo, and Brooklyn Letters, for helping our daughter express herself.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Travis Ricca ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    I worked with Alina to enhance my pronunciation, tone, and pacing while communicating socially and in a work environment. She was great to work with and clear about goals and learning objectives. The improvement from day 1 has been tremendous! … More
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Enrico Bermudez ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    Cathy has been excellent with us and our son. We will sorely miss her. He has improved significantly with Cathy’s help. Cathy was a true partner with us, especially as we pursued additional help through our son’s school system.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Kayne Elisabeth Wilk ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We really loved working with Alina, she is so fantastic. Patient yet firm, and determined the best course of action very clearly and succintly for us. And it all transitioned so well to Zoom as well. I will definitely be back in touch for … More services for our other child after summer break!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Jen S ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Vera was amazing! My 11 yo daughter made progress so quickly and really looked forward to her sessions. She was kept motivated and engaged.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters susie tofte ★★★★★ 3 years ago
    The work that Allison P. did with our daughter over the years has been invaluable to us. Our daughter had such a good relationship with Allison, and it allowed them to work really well together - even remotely these past 6 months. This … More year, Allison went above and beyond by helping us throughout the neuropsych eval we did, trying to re-open our daughter's IEP at her school, and eventually landing her at our chosen school. She was in contact with our daughter's teachers, with the neuropsychologist, and made herself available as a reference to speak on behalf of our daughter's learning differences.
    Allison stopped by our house last week to give our daughter cupcakes and say goodbye, and I literally cried with appreciation for what an amazing speech therapist she has been. She has been our daughter's biggest champion. The new families that she will work with this year are lucky to have her.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Alicia Perez-Katz ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Sydney was great! Our son was sad to end his sessions with her, which says a lot. We appreciated her honest assessment of his skill level, and he now has materials to self monitor and practice. Thank you!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Kristin Ames ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Our experience with Theo was terrific. Theo was great with my son. He developed a positive relationship with him based on sincerity, respect, trust and a deep personal connection. In their lessons, Theo was encouraging, creative and kind. … More He helped our son understand how to differentiate the sounds he made when he spoke, and gave him great exercises to practice every week between lessons. Our son was sorry to have the lessons come to an end, but recognized that Theo had helped him as much as possible and it was time for him to stop. Theo explained to him (and us) how to keep working to get the last 5%, and encouraged him to keep working on the exercises on his own. I have recommended Theo to another parent who noticed my son's improvement and inquired for her own son.
    We are all grateful to have gotten to know Theo, and we greatly appreciate all the work he did to help our son.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Aisha Holder ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    "I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Michelle Macroy-Higgins. We are extremely pleased with her work with our daughter. I was so grateful for my daughter to have a speech therapist who is a researcher (specialty in late … More talkers), graduate professor and practitioner. Her expertise was clearly evident in our conversations and work with our daughter. She was very responsive to my questions and often sent articles and other materials about language development that I found helpful. Thankfully, my daughter's speech improved tremendously. Michelle developed such a warm relationship with my daughter. My daughter was always excited to see Michelle and would greet her at the door with a big hug. Lastly, I would add that Michelle always demonstrated empathy with me as a mother who was initially worried about her daughter's language development. I could go on and on about how pleased we were with Michelle's work."
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Andrea Peartree ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Theo is a wonderful Clinton Hill speech therapist. We were really pleased with him. Our son showed drastic improvement, not only in his speech but in his confidence.
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters mario costa ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    Alexa has been an enthusiastic, reliable, well prepared and caring teacher for our 6 year old daughter. She has been able to improve and increase our daughter's confidence lesson by lesson with patience and competence; through varied … More and productive didactic practice. Alexa has engaged our daughter in several activities that always kept her motivated and eager to learn literacy. My wife and I, both of us are educators, feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to observe Alexa's pedagogical skills. Alexa has had a big impact on our daughter literacy growth. Thank you Brooklyn Letters!
  • Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters Lily Alt ★★★★★ 4 years ago
    We were absolutely DELIGHTED with Marsha's services. She was wonderful. We found her to be kind, fun, engaging, very knowledgeable. She provided us with clear instructions and additional written handouts each week. She engaged our … More son with different techniques and toys, and showed us how to use her techniques when we were interacting with him. I actually just texted her on Saturday - Our son finally said "more" - one of the target words we had been working on with her. It was a total joy to hear, and I had to share it with her - she wrote back immediately to congratulate us. I am so appreciative of her expertise, and wish we could have seen her for longer. I recommended her to another family in our neighborhood who is looking for a speech therapist.

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Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters

BILINGUAL SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY

Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters

BILINGUAL SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY

Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
As Featured In:

Our Speech Therapists Travel To Your NYC Metro Area Home! Expert Private Pay In-Person Bilingual Speech Language Therapy | Free Consultations and Meet & Greets with Our Staff.

Our Speech Therapists Travel To Your NYC Metro Area Home! Expert Private Pay In-Person Bilingual Speech Language Therapy | Free Consultations and Meet & Greets with Our Staff.
FOR SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY SERVICES OUTSIDE OF BROOKLYN
We travel to:
BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS
Bay Ridge Bedford Stuyvesant Bensonhurst Boerum Hill Borough Park Brooklyn Heights Bushwick Carroll Gardens Clinton Hill Cobble Hill Crown Heights Downtown Brooklyn Dumbo Dyker Heights Flatbush Fort Green Gowanus Gravesend Greenpoint Homecrest Kensington Lefferts Gardens Madison Manhattan Beach Midwood Mill Basin Navy Yard Park Slope Prospect Heights Prospect Park South Red Hook Sheepshead Bay Sunset Park Williamsburg Windsor Terrace and More!
Our Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists

We travel to you and we also offer remote services. Some of our speech-language pathologists are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many of our speech-language pathologists are trained in literacy and offer support with decodingspelling and reading fluency services. Our speech-language pathologists and therapists work with babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:

Our Speech-Language Pathologists and Therapists

We travel to you and we also offer remote services. Some of our speech-language pathologists are trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Many of our speech-language pathologists are trained in literacy and offer support with decoding,
spelling and reading fluency services. Our speech-language pathologists and therapists work with babies, toddlers, school-age students, and adults with expertise in:

Training/Certifications
Training/Certifications
TESTIMONIALS

Bilingual Expert.
We had Suzanne, speech therapist, perform a mini-evaluation on our son and we had such a good experience with her that I feel compelled to share my impressions. At first, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about having someone come into our home to evaluate our son. He is very active and, like any toddler, can be extremely suspicious of strangers so I wasn’t sure how this was going to work. When Suzanne entered our apartment with her big bag of toys, my partner and I were immediately put at ease. She has a warm yet confident way about her and she obviously loves working with children, which is the key to my son’s heart. Additionally, Suzanne is very knowledgeable about speech-language pathology with young children, particularly with bilingual children. Suzanne is very professional and methodical. She played with our son while speaking with us and answering all of our questions. She was a pro. The experience with Suzanne was better than I could have imagined.

-Wendy

We were amazed with Allison! She met my son at 2 1/2 years old, not speaking much at all, and over a computer, and she was able to develop a bond and friendship, so much so that he would look forward to his weekly computer time with Allison. I was not sure how the speech therapy would go- but we are so happy that we tried it out and continued. It allowed my son to gain confidence in his speech, make a new friend :), and also give him the skills and a bit of understanding of how to shape his mouth or where to place his tongue to make the proper sounds. We were extremely happy with Allison- she was fantastic to work with.

- Christine W.
Check Out Other Testimonials!
We offer bilingual speech-language therapy in the following languages: Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian

Statistics estimate that over half of the world’s population is bilingual or can communicate in more than one language. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), bilingualism can be considered a continuum of language skills. However, an individual’s skills and proficiency in these languages can vary and change depending on time, social situations, and the people with whom one speaks.

The process by which a second language is acquired can either be simultaneous or sequential. Simultaneous bilingualism involves introducing two languages before age three and acquiring both at the same time. On the other hand, sequential bilingualism refers to the introduction of another language after age three or after a certain level of proficiency is achieved in the primary language. This is also known as successive bilingualism. Dual language learners and English learners also fall into this category. These are individuals who have mastered their first language and are learning a second language (such as English) for social, academic, and professional purposes.

Difference vs. Disorder
  • Phonology- Linguistic development in bilingual children can take different forms than in monolingual children and may include phonological patterns caused by transfer or interference from another language (Goldstein & Gildersleeve-Neumann, 2012). Recognizing dialectal variations and the influence of accents is an essential component of phonological assessment.
  • Morphology- Grammatical structures are not constant across languages. Pronouns, verb conjugation, verb inflection structures, tense, etc., may not exist equally in each language a bilingual individual speaks. The assessment considers the frequency and types of errors observed in individuals and morphological patterns to determine whether they result from a disorder or a difference caused by bilingual language development.
  • Morphosyntax- According to some studies, morphosyntactic language development in bilingual individuals may be similar to monolingual individuals’ rate and order of acquisition (Bedore, Cooperson & Boerger, 2012). However, research is limited, and individual performance may vary depending on a variety of factors.
  • Syntax- Because syntactic structures vary across languages, underlying syntactic deficits will likely manifest differently. The perceptual salience of morphemes and syntactic structures may also influence the difficulty in developing syntactic structures. Significant deficits in morphemes with limited perceptual salience have been observed in children with SLI. (Restrepo & Guiterrez-Clellen, 2012). Additionally, the other may influence grammatical structures in either language (Paradis et al., 2011). Consider if the patterns observed are due to an underlying deficit, which may manifest differently across languages, or due to a difference, such as the transfer of a grammatical structure from one language to another.
  • Semantics- Clients may learn specific words and/or categories of words in their native language and words in the academic language (Paradis et al., 2011).”

Please read more about the evaluation process.

We work with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and adults who need help with articulation, enunciation, accent reduction, stuttering, reading, writing, expressive and receptive (listening skills) language skills, and specialized learning services. We travel to your home.

Characteristics of Bilingualism

Children who are learning multiple languages have certain qualities in the way they speak that are unique to bilingualism (such as becoming quiet when the other language is spoken during conversations). Most of the time, these qualities and behaviors are typical of bilingual language acquisition and do not signify a language disorder. On the other hand, bilingual children may have speech and language issues that go unnoticed. Often, these are attributed to the challenges of learning a new language. Learn the best strategies for raising bilingual children to optimize success and stay on top of developmental milestones. 

Identifying which characteristic is typical or not in second language acquisition is vital in ensuring accurate diagnosis if an individual shows signs of having speech and language difficulties. According to ASHA, the following are normal or typical characteristics of individuals learning multiple languages:

  • Interference / Transfer: This refers to the child’s errors in the other language due to the influence of the native language. For bilingual children who are learning simultaneously, the errors can occur in both languages.
  • Silent Period: Children will often have a silent period, especially during the early stages of language acquisition. This is normal as the child focuses on listening and comprehending the new language. Likewise, it is common for children who can understand the language better than they can speak it.
  • Codeswitching: Switching between languages over phrases or sentences is typical for bilingual speakers.
  • Language Loss / Attrition – While learning a new language, some lose fluency and proficiency in their native language if it is not used consistently.
  • Accent, Dialect, Phonetic Patterns – Accent associated with the primary language may affect the use of phonemes in another language. In adults, accents can continue to affect phonetic patterns.

Click here for more information on language development, speech-language delay, and bilingualism.

If you notice the signs of stuttering in your child, follow the Stuttering Foundation’s prevention guidelines and pay attention to when it happens, especially in your child’s native language. Remember to:

  • Speak to your child in one language at a time
  • Allow your child to mix vocabulary between languages but respond by using the same word in the language being used
  • If six months go by and stuttering is still apparent, make an appointment with a speech pathologist
How Bilingual Speech-Language Evaluation Therapy Can Help

A bilingual evaluation conducted by a bilingual speech-language pathologist (SLP) is needed to determine if the communication differences a child exhibits are simply a result of second language acquisition or symptoms of a speech or language disorder. In the case of children having difficulties learning a second language, a bilingual speech-language therapist can:

  • Help the child focus on language processes that are common in both languages to minimize errors
  • Identify common patterns in code-switching to improve the child’s mastery of both languages
  • Prevent language loss or attrition by reinforcing the primary language
  • Help with listening and comprehension
  • Help with enunciation and accented speech to improve intelligibility.

When an SLP works with a bilingual individual, language history information is especially important. We gather the following:

  • age and manner of acquisition of the language
  • dialect of the language used
  • language used at home and at school/work
  • language used within the family
  • length of exposure to each language
  • language of choice with peers
  • progress in receiving English as a second language
  • contact with native speakers of primary language
  • language of academic instruction
  • academic performance in each language
  • age of immigration

(Want to know more about accent modification/reduction speech therapy? Click here!)

There are instances when speech or language issues can go unnoticed or misdiagnosed in bilingual children because they are attributed to second language acquisition. In most cases, these conditions include:

  • Stuttering: In bilingual children, stuttering tends to affect one language more than the other, which sometimes leads to assumptions that a child is simply less proficient in the other language. Signs of stuttering in bilingual children include trouble finding the right words, difficulties in using both languages in the same sentence (or code-switching), and struggling to speak in more complex sentences.
  • Selective Mutism: It is normal and common for bilingual children to go through periods of silence. However, a child’s silence can also be due to anxiety, causing them to retreat and speak only in certain situations. Bilingualism does not cause selective mutism, but it can trigger the anxiety already present in the child. This occurs when the child is forced to use a language he or she is not comfortable speaking.
  • Speech Impairment:Bilingual children typically make pronunciation errors when learning a second language, which is why speech impairment can be difficult to spot. Speech impairment can occur in both languages that the child speaks, but it may affect each one differently. A bilingual evaluation is necessary to verify if the child has a speech and pronunciation problem.
  • Dyslexia. The symptoms of dyslexia in bilingual children are the same as in monolingual children. However, they are often spotted later because the child’s difficulties are attributed to struggling with learning a language. If your child is having difficulty in both languages with learning words and numbers, understanding reading, understanding sounds, and mixing up letters and numbers, they may have dyslexia. Bilingual children who are suspected to have dyslexia should be tested in both of their languages.

MEET OUR BROOKLYN SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPISTS AND PATHOLOGISTS WHO TRAVEL TO YOUR HOME

Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Maria
New York State certified and licensed bilingual (Russian/English) Speech Language Pathologist
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Ben I.
M.S., CCC- SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Briana I.
M.A., CCC-SLP, TSSLD
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Sholom
MA, CCC-SLP, TSSLD, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Cathy E.
M.S. CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Theo W.
M.S. CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Rachel
M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD, QOM
Bilingual Speech Language Therapy & Evaluation – Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, French, Haitian – Creole, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, French, Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Turkish, Japanese, Cantonese, Greek, German, & Serbian, Brooklyn Letters
Max
Ph.D., CCC-SLP, TSSLD

FREE CONSULTATION!!!
Call: (347) 394-3485,
Text: (917) 426-8880

Email: [email protected]
(we respond to email right away!)