This book, now in its second edition, is a practical resource that helps speech-language pathologists, educators, and other professionals understand how poverty affects children's developing language and provides strategies that support these children and their families. The author, a university professor and part-time itinerant speech-language pathologist in the schools, balances research and practical, "Monday morning" strategies for professionals who want to help low-socioeconomic status (SES) students from preschool through high school succeed in school and, eventually, in society. The text presents up-to-date information about the "culture of poverty" and background information on factors impacting low-income children's language skills. It goes on to provide practical strategies for nonbiased assessment, intervention, structuring the school environment, and working with families.Helpful new features in the second edition include: Chapter highlights at the end of each chapter References to many new research studies Content grounded in principles of evidence-based practice Practice recommendations based in research from a variety of disciplines, such as social science, speech-language pathology, neuroscience, and education New case studies of the author's actual clients Because the Great Recession has rendered so many more families homeless, the second edition includes much more information about serving homeless students, including mitigating the effects of chaos through increasing executive functioning skills.
The author works directly with homeless people on the streets and therefore includes a broad-based (hands-on and research) perspective about meeting the unique needs of this population. The second edition contains new information about using Response to Intervention (RtI) to serve low-SES students in general education classroom settings. Updated technology recommendations (e.g., using iPad and YouTube technology) are presented. The section on increasing the literacy skills of low-SES students has been expanded, as well.In sum, the second edition of Increasing Language Skills of Students from Low-Income Backgrounds is a must-have for any professional who serves students and their families from low-SES backgrounds.