Learning behaviors of typical multilingual development can resemble those of disability, complicating accurate identification¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Learning behaviors associated with the natural process of learning multiple languages can be similar to those associated with a disability, and can even represent the complex interaction of typical language development and disability. → Burr 2022

Evidence¶

Burr 2022¶

Burr, E., & Burho, J. (2022). Resourcing supports for young multilingual learners with suspected disabilities in California: Learning collaborative recommendations. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655645

q1 · i? · review · r1

The report states, citing NASEM (2017), that "learning behaviors associated with the natural process of learning multiple languages can be similar to those associated with a disability" and may reflect their interaction. This is a research-synthesis assertion, not a new empirical result.

"learning behaviors associated with the natural process of learning multiple languages can be similar to those associated with a disability"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Bilingual staff help differentiate typical language development from disability, but interviewees described no systematic process for doing so — related
• Bilingual children acquire vocabulary and syntax in each language more slowly than monolingual children, yet show cognitive advantages and can match or surpass monolingual peers with support — related
• Multidisciplinary teams often provide home language support and delay referral to rule out lack of opportunity to learn before evaluating ML children — related
• CSPP pre-referral processes mirror the K-12 MTSS approach and apply fundamentally the same steps to ML and non-ML children — related
• Multilingual learners in California are disproportionately represented in special education, especially in the Specific Learning Disability category — related
• Assessment of young multilingual learners is hampered by a dearth of valid, linguistically appropriate measures and by English-only administration — related
• Dynamic assessment reflects young children's learning potential more accurately than static tests, especially with minority and learning disabled children — related