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Description: Objectives: The cognitive and social benefits of bilingualism for children, including for those with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs), have been documented. The present study was designed to characterize and compare English and Spanish use in Hispanic families with and without NDDs residing in the U.S, as well as to understand parental perceptions of their child’s bilingualism and of community and professional support. Methods: We conducted an online survey of 84 Spanish-speaking parents of 4- to 24-year-olds with (n=44) and without NDDs (n=40) who were born in and living in the U.S. Results: We found that bilingualism was a desired goal for 95% of our families. We also found, however, that a 17.1% of parents of children with NDDs have raised them as monolinguals English-speakers as they thought there were reasons for that, while all families from the NT group raised their children in both languages. In addition, nearly 40% of the NDDs children only speak English compared to a 5% in the NT group. Finally, parents of children with NDDs cite a lack of support for bilingualism in the community (47.6% don’t feel supported compared to a 7.9% in the NT group) and recommendation from professionals as major factors for not raising their children as bilingual. Conclusions: Results suggest a need to educate professionals from many disciplines about the benefits of bilingualism for children with NDDs, and for implementation of inclusion policies that provide access to dual-language programs.

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