Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common childhood disabilities. Language difficulties of bilinguals is often attributed to second language learning resulting in under-, delayed, and over- identification of DLD. Available diagnostic tools are standardized for face-to-face administration calling into question their validity and reliability when administered via telepractice. While many school districts have suspended assessment at this time, special education law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that school districts conduct assessments within 60 days of referral. Thus, it is critical to establish whether language assessment tools administered on-line yield valid results. In this talk I will
1. Review the diagnostic criteria for DLD.
2. Discuss challenges in identification of DLD and potential threats to validity and reliability in conducting assessment in an on-line format.
3. Outline the proposed summer pilot study.
4. Discuss potential outcomes and implications.

Elizabeth Peña, Ph.D. CCC-SLP is a Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Development & Diversity in the School of Education at UCI. She is a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and is a Fellow of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Her research focuses language development and language disability in dual language learners; and how to best differentiating language impairment from language difference. She is interested in how children from diverse linguistic backgrounds learn new language skills and how they lexicalize their conceptual knowledge across two languages.

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