I, too, work in Early Intervention. Tauheedah gave some good tips, particularly about how fast we speak and which words we choose to use. As she said, visuals are also helpful in communication. In St Louis we are lucky in that our public library has a good selection of picture books in several different languages and library cards are encouraged even for newborns, so I can actually bring a book that is available to a parent to show them familiar print words.
I find that my students are most frequently in need of very basic language development in addition to whatever other needs they have. I teach the same concepts regardless of culture. Those include things like following directions, sharing (haha!) and basic sounds and words. I try to learn the differences in the way sounds are made in the native language. For example in English a rooster says cock-a-doodle-doo. In Spanish it's kee-kee-kee-ka-roo. Asian families sometimes have difficulty imitating particular consonant sounds in English. Fathers or other authority figures may override a mother in some cultures, so it's important to include them in whatever you say and do. It's also important to recognize and respect the different ways that other cultures interact with their children.
In my graduate studies I had a very helpful textbook called
Developing Cross-Cultural Competence: A guide for Working with Children and Their Families by Eleanor W. Lynch and Marci J. Hanson. Brooks publishes it but it's available on Amazon as well. I return to this resource when I'm starting with a family from an unfamiliar (to me) culture just as a reminder to pay attention to more subtle cues from folks who are desperately trying to help their child in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar resources.
On a side note, if you are in Early Intervention, you might be interested in the At Risk and Special Needs group within NAEYC. Personally, I'm having some trouble posting within this forum (Hello) in their group, but I get very helpful e-mails from the leaders of the group. Just a thought.
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Chris Schmidt
Special Instructor
MO First Steps
St Louis, MO
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-16-2018 06:47 AM
From: Doris Gadson
Subject: Special Education
I need resources for developmentally appropriate instructional in Special Education in early intervention and what are some strategies for culturally and linguistically and immigrant families.
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone