JCPSLP Vol 15 No 2 2013

Summary and future directions Our goal in writing this paper was not to provide a definitive protocol for assessing clients speaking multiple languages. Rather, our intent was to provide a narrative review of the pertinent literature, provide a general framework for assessing CALD children using LSA, and describe the technological advances that have been made to assist SLPs. When using any assessment technique, SLPs must use the evidence based practice framework by simultaneously considering the available empirical evidence, their own clinical expertise, and the values of the client and family (Dollaghan, 2004). For many of our CALD clients, there will be a limited empirical evidence base available specific to their language and culture. However, we can look to the existing literature on LSA for guidance in eliciting samples, transcription, and analysis. To fill the remaining gaps, SLPs can draw on their own experience of assessing children’s language skills. Finally, it is critical to carefully consider the client’s and family’s cultural and linguistic background. Not only is this best practice, but it will also provide crucial information to allow the SLP to individualise the assessment and reduce potential biases, such as familiarity with the sampling procedure and language proficiency. SLPs can expedite the assessment process by utilising the available LSA tools, including digital recording systems, software to transcribe samples, and automated analyses. Using LSA data within the comprehensive assessment will assist with the accurate identification of children with language impairment and can provide rich descriptive data to assist with planning culturally and linguistically sensitive intervention. Ultimately we must strive to gather more systematic information about the languages of our clients. From a research perspective this could include small-scale studies, eliciting spontaneous language skills in a group of participants, and describing the main features of that language. One such study investigating the oral language skills of 4-year-old bilingual Samoan children has just been completed by the second author and work is underway to determine how to code and analyse these samples, using SALT. This study will allow us to systematically document these bilingual children’s expressive language skills across languages and help us understand cross-linguistic transfer in areas such as grammar and semantics. We would like to reiterate Williams’ (2011) viewpoint about the importance of practitioner input in this process. Clinicians can assist by collecting language samples from their CALD clients following the procedures outlined in this article. It may be possible to collate these data and build on the resources we currently have available to aid our assessment of the language skills of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2010). Yearbook Australia 2009–2010 . Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov. au Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2012). The Australian curriculum – English . Retrieved from www.australiancurriculum.edu.au Bedore, L., & Peña, E. (2008). Assessment of bilingual children for identification of language impairment: Current findings and implications for practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism , 11 , 1–29.

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JCPSLP Volume 15, Number 2 2013

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology