The Disproportionate Identification of Language-Related Disorders in Bilingual Children

The disproportionate identification of language-related disorders in bilingual children is an ongoing issue in schools. Previous research has uncovered distinct identification patterns for bilinguals and monolinguals, but there is limited information about identification rates across grades while accounting for heterogeneity in language background. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which emergent and English-proficient bilingual children are disproportionately identified with language-related disorders. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey 2010-11, a nationally representative, individual-level, longitudinal data set, we used a series of descriptive, logistic regression, and discrete time models to examine the prevalence and incidence of communication disorders and specific learning disability in elementary school for emergent and English-proficient bilinguals, compared to monolinguals. Analyses revealed an increasing prevalence of language-related disorders for emergent bilinguals leading to overrepresentation, relative to monolinguals, while English-proficient bilinguals experienced underrepresentation in early elementary grades. Results also indicated that observed overrepresentation was largely accounted for by health, developmental, sociodemographic, and academic variables. Evidence of underrepresentation was present in early elementary school for emergent bilinguals in the specific learning disability category, and for both bilingual groups in the communication disorders category. This study provides insight into identification trends not addressed in previous research, highlighting differences in service receipt and identification rates for heterogeneous groups of bilingual children. Study outcomes have implications for education practitioners involved in making special education eligibility determinations.