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Purpose: Emergent bilinguals (EBs) from Spanish-speaking households are a sizable and quickly growing segment of the preschool population in the United States. However, there is limited research on the provision of opportunities for EBs to engage in language-rich classroom discussion, particularly in English-dominant contexts where most EBs attend preschool. This study focused on teacher and Spanish–English EBs' language interactions in an English-dominant preschool program to better understand whether and, if so, how teachers' use of questioning strategies provided extended oral language use opportunities for Spanish-speaking EBs in their classrooms. Method: We adopted a sequential–explanatory mixed-methods design to examine audio recordings from whole-group instruction across seven preschool classrooms and investigate how EBs responded to teachers' conversationally responsive questioning strategies, with a specific focus on how they used Spanish as they composed extended responses. Researchers coded 31 audio recordings from 12 EB students to identify teachers' ( n = 7) use of questioning strategies (closed-response, open-response, and single-word-response), as well as students' responses to questions (one-word-response or extended response) and Spanish use. Results: Teachers' use of closed-response and single-word-response questions emerged as most important in supporting Spanish–English EBs' extended language use during whole-group instruction. Furthermore, the majority of student responses that included Spanish utterances were extended responses, underscoring the value of Spanish use for students to develop extended responses. Conclusion: Findings suggest that equitable opportunities to enter into classroom dialogue for EBs might require more explicitly scaffolded questioning strategies and might necessitate the purposeful and intentional use of Spanish.

ObjectiveWe examined the perceived familial support of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to better understand the assistance and gaps they experienced.BackgroundPrevious literature indicated various forms of support, including spousal, extended family members, and siblings. However, limited research considered the support parents experienced from their child with ASD.MethodUsing a qualitative methodology involving semistructured interviews, the team interviewed nine parents who had children with ASD.ResultsAlthough most extended family members were seen as supportive, some held a lack of understanding of ASD, posed questions, or made comments that the children were “spoiled.” Mothers often took on the role of “educator.” The sibling(s) helped with caregiving, but also had their own life experiences to deal with. Regarding the support that the child with ASD provided, parents explained that they had grown into a better person. They were more aware of the challenges other parents faced and held less judgements of others.ConclusionOverall, parents noted differing familial support needs based on their families' understanding of ASD. They valued the support the child with ASD provided and recognized how they had grown as a person.ImplicationsPractitioners must continue to learn how to better understand families' experiences and recognize that each family member has differing support roles.

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