Description
Bilingual language development is a complex and dynamic process that shapes how children interact, learn, and participate in society. Understanding the factors that influence bilingual acquisition is essential for supporting both typically developing children and those with developmental differences. Research demonstrates that bilingualism can offer significant cognitive, social, and academic benefits, even for children with language-related challenges, provided they receive appropriate support. In inclusive and culturally responsive environments, dual language development can enhance identity, promote equity, and facilitate meaningful participation in diverse communities. As such, fostering bilingualism is not only a linguistic endeavor but also a pathway to broader societal inclusion and resilience.
Optimizing Bilingual Development in Typical and Atypical Children: Language Acquisition, Use, and Interventions offers a comprehensive exploration of bilingual development across typical and atypical populations. It emphasizes evidence-based educational and clinical practices and provides a unified framework for understanding bilingualism as a dynamic and context-dependent process. Covering topics such as ADHD, morphology, and psychomotor development, this book is an excellent resource for researchers, educators, clinicians, policymakers, and more.
Author's/Editor's Biography
Dimitra V. Katsarou (Ed.)
Dimitra V. Katsarou
is a tenured Assistant Professor at the Department of Sciences in Preschool Education and Educational Design of the University of the Aegean, holding the chair of Developmental Psychopathology and Language Disorders. She studied Philology at the School of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds four postgraduate degrees, PhD in “Language Development and Linguistic Abilities of Children with Down Syndrome” from the Department of Special Education of the University of Thessaly and two postdoctoral research projects at the University of Thessaly and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her scholarly work includes more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed indexed journals, 50 chapters in edited academic volumes, three books, ten international edited books, five Greek edited volumes, more than 100 conference presentations, and eleven children’s books.
Ifigeneia Dosi (Ed.)
Ifigeneia Dosi
is an Assistant Processor in Linguistics at Democritus University of Thrace (Department of Greek Philology). She holds a PhD from the Department of Greek Philology (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). Her doctoral thesis investigated the interrelation of grammatical & lexical aspect and cognitive abilities in bilingual children. She received an individual IKY fellowship for her postdoctoral research on Developmental Language Disorder. She has also participated in several research projects and she has published her work on international journal and conferences. She has considerable teaching experience and participation in training programs for educators who work with refugees and heritage speakers. Finally, her research interests include language development of bilinguals in interrelation with cognitive abilities and contextual factors in (a)typical development.