In this seventy-five minute presentation, Selma Saad Merouwe, SLP, ECSF, of Saint Joseph University, Beirut, discusses new research in bilingual people who stutter. Our insight into the frequency and types of the disfluencies of bilingual children who do, and do not stutter, is limited because research has primarily focused on monolinguals. Recently, many studies have been conducted that include children with different language profiles to better understand the interlinguistic characteristics that can distinguish bilingual children who do and do not stutter from their monolingual peers. Results inform the accurate clinical identification of stuttering in bilinguals. This presentation includes the theoretical background related to this specific topic, and some preliminary findings of a research project carried out in Lebanon.
Learning Objectives: Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- describe different types of bilingualism.
- describe the nature and characteristics of stuttering in bilingual children.
- identify key elements of fluency assessment in bilingual children.
Selma Saad Merouwe is a Slovak-Lebanese Speech and Language Therapist and an ECSF graduate. She is a lecturer and a researcher in fluency disorders at Saint-Joseph University of Beirut, and a Ph.D. candidate at both Turku University (Finland) and Saint-Joseph University. In her clinical practice and research, she focuses on fluency disorders and bilingualism.
