When assessing a bilingual child, it is vital to evaluate both languages primarily to achieve what goal?

When assessing a bilingual child, evaluating both languages plays a crucial role in diagnosing a communication disorder. This comprehensive approach is essential because language input and proficiency in each language can significantly impact the child's overall communication abilities. By assessing both languages, a speech-language pathologist can identify whether the difficulties the child experiences are rooted in a disorder that affects both languages or if they are attributable to language exposure or proficiency.

For effective diagnosis, it’s important to differentiate between typical language development patterns in bilingual contexts and potential deficits that indicate a speech or language disorder. This assessment helps to avoid misdiagnosis and ensures that the treatment plan is tailored to the child's unique linguistic context, ultimately leading to more effective intervention strategies.

Evaluating both languages also supports the clinician in understanding the child’s language dominance and proficiency, which can influence therapy decisions but is secondary to an accurate diagnosis of communication disorders.