Collaboration to Increase Cultural Relevance for African American English Speakers With Disabilities

Abstract

Students with disabilities who are speakers of African American English (AAE) can face barriers and challenges in the classroom. There is the potential for negative perceptions of AAE and a lack of understanding of dialectal differences to impact student expectations and outcomes. School leadership must prepare educators to implement strategies to support students with these intersecting identities, yet research indicates that educators often need more preparation. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are one special education discipline with specialized training and skills to meet student needs at the intersection of disability and linguistic diversity. Today, policymakers and school leaders call on educators to be CR practitioners. This article presents a CR framework and provides recommendations for educators collaborating with SLPs within the five framework themes. By leveraging partnerships with SLPs, educators can increase their cultural relevance and more effectively support educational outcomes for students with disabilities who are speakers of AAE.