113: Language Nutrition on the Rez with Joshuaa Allison-Burbank, PhD, CCC-SLP
This course addresses the work of providing culturally responsive resources to support the linguistic and cultural needs of children and adolescents of the Navajo Nation. Born out of the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Books for Diné Bikéyah is a community intervention project that provides books by Diné authors to Diné children.
topics covered:
An overview of Dr. Allison-Burbank’s work as an SLP in the Navajo Nation.
Establishing a community intervention project aimed at improving “language nutrition” and building resilience.
How to enhance language routines with influencers of learning.
Influencers of learning = parents, extended family, neighbors, community members, teachers,… anyone in the child’s proximity who is influencing the language development of the child.
The genesis and mission of Books for Diné Bikéyah.
Books on the ground: the impact of providing books written by Diné authors for Diné children in the era of COVID-19.
Ideas to aid in the longevity of Books for Diné Bikéyah
Looking into the future and making plans to increase access to language nutrition on the Rez.
Resources mentioned in the episode
STEAM Connection: Creating diverse, accessible, and affordable Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math educational materials for young kids by students. Check out the list of books on STEAM’s page about Books for Diné Bikéyah.
how can you support the mission of Books for Diné Bikéyah?
Donate to the GoFundMe Page
Purchase books by Indigenous authors to use in your SLP practice
Purchase books to for your personal use or to give as gifts
Here’s a best of 2020 list from AICL: American Indians in Children’s Literature and they provide critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books.
Be a virtual volunteer and spread the word!
Share Dr. Allison-Burbank’s work on social media and raise awareness
Contact bookstores to stock books by Indigenous authors
Contact publishing companies to match donations and maximize book donations to the Navajo Nation
Contact Dr. Allison-Burbank to find out additional options to supporting the work of Books for Diné Bikéyah.
more from dr. Joshuaa Allison-Burbank:
Follow his work on Instagram: @ndnslp
Allison-Burbank, J. (2016, July). Historical Influences on Health Care and Education in Native American Communities. American Speech Language Hearing Association Special Interest Group 14 Perspectives.
Girolamo, T., Allison-Burbank, J., Williams, B., & Indar, G.K. Our Voices Count: A Panel on Multicultural Experiences in CSD. The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Blog. May 2018.
Speaking Up for Developmentally Delayed Children: A speech-language pathologist finds opportunities to prevent developmental delays in Native children. Featured in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for American Indian Health Website. July 2017. (http://caih.jhu.edu/news/speaking-up-for-developmentally-delayed-children)
In the Limelight: Looking Inward and Beyond. Featured in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Leader, December 2013, 20-21.
Joshuaa D. Allison-Burbank, PhD, CCC-SLP, CPH is Diné and Acoma Pueblo. His clans are Tlogi, Parrot Clan (Acoma), Toahani, and Yellow Corn (Acoma). Joshuaa is a speech-language pathologist at Northern Navajo Medical Center in Tsé Bitʼaʼí, Navajo Nation. (Shiprock, NM) and Research Project Coordinator for the Culturally Responsive Early Literacy Instruction: American Indian/Alaska Native at the University of Kansas. He also provides mentoring and clinical supervision to trainees in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities interdisciplinary training program at the University of Kansas Medical Center. His clinical and research interests include community assessment and capacity building, parent coaching, culturally responsive teaching practices, and prevention of developmental delay in American Indian children. Joshuaa is a lecturer for the KU Speech-Language-Hearing Department and holds an adjunct position in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at the University of Vermont. Joshuaa has held several leadership positions recently including vice chair of the Multi-Cultural Committee (MCC) within the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and co-chair of the Native American Caucus within the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
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