Patterns of Narrative Discourse: A Multicultural, Lifespan Approach educates professionals about the features of narrative discourse from a multicultural perspective.

This text is intended for speech-language pathologists, early childhood specialists, elementary and high school educators, as well as students in these disciplines. The authors seek to prevent misdiagnoses of cultural differences as deficits. The importance of narratives for children and adults is presented with respect to literacy, education, law and medicine. Narratives from children with typical and impaired discourse development are described regarding the following cultures: European North American, African American, Spanish-speaking communities, and Asian Americans. Adult narratives are also presented from speakers with typical and impaired discourse from different cultural backgrounds. Assessment, intervention and educational considerations that take into account multicultural backgrounds are presented.