Understanding the Journeys of Somali Refugee Youth

Sirad Shirdon In the past few weeks, as media coverage has been dominated by refugees and migrants arriving in Europe, my thoughts returned to Somali refugee youth I met back in December 2012. In my work with a local elementary school in Nairobi, Kenya I was requested to give a motivational talk to the mostly…

Somali Moms Ask: Should I Only Speak English at Home?

  By: Sirad Shirdon “ We only use English in the home”. As a speech-language pathologist, families often admit that they speak English exclusively in the home. If these families were from English speaking backgrounds, this would be understandable. However, I am increasingly hearing this from families who come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The…