Language Assessment in Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology

Abstract

Standardized language assessments of children are commonly used to diagnose language disorders, yet these tools are often normed on a narrow demographic of monolingual, middleclass, white children. This narrow normative data has led to misdiagnosis of children who fall outside of the norm created. Studies highlight how cultural, linguistic, and normative test biases disproportionately affect children who speak non-mainstream dialects, are multilingual, have disabilities, or are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The findings of this literature review calls attention to a disconnect between research, policy, and clinical practice, indicating that SLPs rely on standardized assessment tools out of accessibility or in compliance with guidelines, despite their known limitations. This literature review advocates for an integration of informal assessment tools and further research and production of culturally responsive, inclusive assessments to ensure equitable access diagnosis and intervention for all children