Bilingual Language Interaction for Social Success (BLISS) is a research laboratory part of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in The College of Arts & Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. We study the impact of home and school factors on the language and literacy skills of Spanish-English bilingual children, both concurrently and longitudinally. In the BLISS laboratory, we design and examine programs based at home, school, and clinical settings to produce and identify evidence-based practices that can foster bilingual children’s foundational skills in the first and second language. These skills are crucial for success in early literacy, reading comprehension, academic achievement, and cultural identity.

We strongly advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse families’ language and communication, particularly in language contact environments where the minority language(s) and culture(s) are at risk of disappearing. We support families with a Hispanic background in their right and effort to develop and maintain the home language. We also work with clinicians, professionals, and policymakers across contexts and disciplines to promote bilingual language and literacy development in children with and without language disorders and/or disabilities.

Through our research, we aim to bridge the gap between science and practice, and we strive to assist our students in building knowledge and culturally responsive practices that enable them to work confidently and ethically with bilingual children and their families.