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Language vs. Disability: Distinguishing Difference from Disorder




Evaluating emergent bilingual students can feel like solving a puzzle where half the pieces are labeled “maybe.” This session provides a practical, structured framework to help evaluators distinguish between second language acquisition patterns and true indicators of disability using multiple data sources and defensible decision practices. Participants will build a clear understanding of how language development, instruction, culture, and assessment variables interact — and how to interpret results when scores appear low across languages. The training walks through a step-by-step decision process grounded in best practice and compliance guidance, with real examples, applied interpretation strategies, and report-ready language. This session is designed to move beyond theory and into daily evaluation practice. Attendees will leave with tools they can immediately use to reduce over- and under-identification risk, strengthen their analysis, and write clearer, more defensible reports.

Important Session Information:


Presenter: Roxana Stanley, M.Ed. (The Bilingual Diag)

Participants will learn to:

  • Differentiate language difference from disability using a structured analysis process

  • Interpret cognitive and academic results in bilingual contexts

  • Recognize common assessment patterns seen in emergent bilingual learners

  • Apply culture-language interpretation principles to real cases

  • Use cross-battery and cross-language data to support conclusions

  • Write defensible evaluation statements tied to evidence

Best suited for educational diagnosticians, school psychologists, SLPs, and other professionals involved in multilingual evaluations.  
Registration ends at 12:00 AM on Wednesday, June 10, 2026
 
Session ID:
632943
Credits Available:
(3) CPE
(3) Contact Hours
In Person Seats Filled:
11 / 100
Fee:
$0.00
Contact Person:
Victoria Ibanez
Instructor(s):
Victoria Ibanez
Date Time Location
6/10/2026 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM On-Line Event
Venue Type:
Video Conference

  2811 Laforce Boulevard Midland,TX 79706