Resources for Parents

Information for Parents of Bilingual Children 

Bilingualism Matters 

• http://www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk/parents-questions/frequently-asked-questions 

Focus On South Florida: Bilingual Children with Dr. Erika Hoff 

• http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/10/11/focus-on-south-florida-bilingual-children 

New York Times Article: Raising a Truly Bilingual Child

• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/well/family/raising-a-truly-bilingual-child.html?searchResultPosition=2

Baby Doctor Mamas: Bilingualism and Babies Podcast

• https://babydoctormamas.com/59-bilingualism-and-babies/

Kletsheads: The podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers and speech therapists

• www.kletsheadspodcast.org

Kletsheads is a podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers, and speech-language therapists. What can you expect if you’re raising your children bilingually? What’s important? What will help your children’s language development and what won’t? In each episode, Dr. Sharon Unsworth, linguist, and mother of two children (both bilingual, of course), discusses the science behind the language development of bilingual children with another expert. Along the way, there are practical tips, we hear from children about what it’s like growing up with two or more languages, and we talk to parents and professionals about their experiences with bilingual children. You can listen via the website (www.kletsheadspodcast.org) or by searching for Kletsheads [English edition] in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Listen now to podcast episodes featuring Dr. Hoff!

Season 1 Episode 2: How Much Language Does a Child Need to Hear to Become Bilingual?

Season 1 Episode 7: Does it Matter if a Bilingual Child Only Actively Uses One Language?

Early Steps    

Here are a few centers in South Florida that offer early intervention services for children    birth to 3 years of age    who have developmental delays or a condition that might lead to a developmental delay either in language or speech or in any other developmental area:    

Gold Coast Early Steps    

• Children's Diagnostic & Treatment Center
  1401 South Federal Highway
  Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316-2619
  (754) 321-2204 - Referral Line - Child Find
  (954) 728-1083 - General Information    

North Dade Early Steps    

• Mailman Center for Child Development
  1601 NW 12th Ave. Room 5013
  University Of Miami - Dept. of Pediatric
  Miami, FL 33136-1005
  (305) 243-6660
  (305) 243-3501 - Fax    

Treasure Coast Early Steps    

• Child Development Center
  5325 Greenwood Avenue Ste. 201
  West Palm Beach, FL 33407-2452
  (561) 882-6426 - Referral Line
  (800) 879-4083
  (561) 881-2822 - Local    

Florida Diagnostics and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) - Child Find Services    

The following centers in South Florida offer early intervention services for children    3 years of age or older   :    

Broward County    

• https://www.browardschools.com/Page/41040
  Exceptional Student Learning Support Division at Arthur Ashe Campus
  1701 Northwest. 23rd Avenue
  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Phone: 754-321-3466
  FDLRS Coordinator:    Gwen Lipscomb    

Miami-Dade County    

• http://www.fdlrssouth.org
  FDLRS-South
  6521 SW 62nd Avenue South Miami, Fl 33143
  Main Line: 305-274-3501
  Fax: 305-598-7752    

Palm Beach County    

• http://www.fdlrsalpha.org
  Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center
  3300 Forest Hill Boulevard
  West Palm Beach, FL. 33406
  Phone: 561-434-8000
  866-930-840    

If you would like to refer your preschool-aged child to FDLRS/ALPHA in Palm Beach County, call one of the referral lines at:    

• (561) 434-7337 (Boynton Beach north to Jupiter, and Wellington/RPB/Loxahatchee area)    

• (800) 734-9707 (Delray Beach, Boca Raton and the Glades area)    

The first physical contact parents have with Child Find staff is at a screening appointment in one of their area offices (depending on where the family lives). Please contact a referral line in order to schedule an appointment at a particular center.    

Clinics    

Florida Atlantic University - Boca Raton Campus    

• https://www.fau.edu/education/academicdepartments/csd/clinic/    

• College of Education
  Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
  777 Glades Road
  Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991
  (561) 297-2258
  csd@fau.edu    

Nova Southeastern University    

• http://www.schoolofed.nova.edu/slp/clinic/clinic.htm    

• http://www.nova.edu/msi/pplace/services.html    

Clinical Affiliates of Florida International University    

• https://medicine.fiu.edu/academics/graduate-medical-education/affiliates/index.html    

• Most of these places will do bilingual evaluations.