Cultural humility and cultural competence in speech therapy
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Cultural influence on our speech therapy practices
Our professional practices are rooted in a very specific cultural context. In speech-language pathology, the majority of tools, standards, and intervention models come from Western, often individualistic, societies. However, these benchmarks do not always apply to all the families we work with.
Our practices are culturally situated.
The approaches we consider “evidence-based” come from a framework where autonomy, speaking up, and direct communication are valued.
In other cultures, the primary value may be listening, discretion, hierarchy, or the collective role.
Recognizing this influence means admitting that our “usual” way of intervening is not suitable for all cultural realities.
Individualism vs. collectivism
Individualistic cultures (like those of North America or Western Europe) emphasize personal expression: encouraging the child to “express themselves”, “name”, “give their opinion”.
Collectivist cultures, on the other hand, value harmony, observation and the place of the group: children often learn by imitation, in silence, without necessarily verbalizing.
| Dimension | Individualistic cultures | Collectivist cultures |
|---|---|---|
| Interactions | Child-adult language-centered | Peer observation and imitation |
| Game | Symbolic, verbal game | Functional, team game |
| Valued skills | Oral expression, autonomy | Listening, observing, respecting |
| Social value | “To say” and to affirm | “Observe” and learn from the group |
Cultural examples (drawn from my readings and clinical experiences)
- Inuit and Mayan communities : babies are not directly addressed by adults; they listen and observe until they can speak for themselves.
- Guinea : children learn to communicate with their peers; language develops within the group.
- Congolese parent : Lingala perceived as “vulgar” in a school context shows how linguistic representations influence language at home.
What this changes for us
These differences are not “bad practices”: they are simply different. As speech-language pathologists, our responsibility is to do not pathologize diversity .
Our observations, expectations, and standards must be questioned in light of the cultural and linguistic context of each family.
From competence to cultural humility
Cultural competence consists of “knowing” cultural differences; cultural humility goes further: it pushes us to recognize what we do not know.
It's a stance, not a fixed skill:
- ask open-ended questions;
- listen without judging;
- agree to learn;
- co-create the objectives with the family.
Cultural humility protects us from the reflex to impose our vision of development. It opens a space for genuine dialogue where families feel respected.
Conclusion
Our tools, frameworks, and expectations are colored by our professional cultures. Recognizing their limitations is already a sign of humility.
Adopting a posture of continuous learning brings us closer to truly inclusive speech therapy.
→ To learn more: discover the training Inclusive speech therapy – the care of the bilingual and multilingual child .
