Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology Consultants In Culturally Diverse Schools: Considerations On Theoretically-Based Consultee Engagement

Culturally and linguistically diverse students develop in bilingual and bicultural environments, often not fully understood or acknowledged in testing. To increase diagnostic accuracy in these circumstances, official guidelines mandate the use of unbiased assessment procedures and multidisciplinary diagnostic input. "Bilingual speech-language pathologists" (BSLPs) are consultants on the multidisciplinary school teams evaluating bilingual students. BSLPs gather crucial diagnostic data to distinguish language differences from genuine language deficits. This article describes the consultant role of school BSLPs as consultant—consultee partnerships guided by bilingualism principles. The article discusses theoretical principles of bilingualism, applies such principles to engage consultees as key diagnostic informants, and concludes with implications of consultant—consultee collaborations in bilingual speech-language services and a diagnostic framework for consultant BSLPs in schools.