·        A developmental history collecting information not only related to language but medical history.

·        An academic history should specify if the instruction was interrupted or given to the student continuously, and in what language s(he) received instruction.

·        A parent interview to uncovered in what language the family usually speaks to the child and whether they have noticed language acquisition problems.

·        A dynamic assessment to distinguish lack of skills caused by either language development or cognitive problems.

·        A language sampling to identify structural issues with the language.

·        An observation of the child in the classroom and with peers to provide evidence on the students’ social and academic language development.

·        A norm reference assessment to compare and contrast the child’s development structured-task with their peers.

 

The pros of this assessment are that it is not a linear process; clinicians can go back and forward to collect more information or revise part of the evidence. It doesn’t depend on standardized tests, but observations, interviews, and academic history. Conversely, the cons of this panoramic assessment are that it may not be possible to complete every single step of the assessment. For example, if the parent doesn’t speak English and the school does not have access to a bilingual translator, interviews would be difficult to handle. In addition, gathering all the required information for the assessment 360° is time-consuming for teachers and/or schools’ clinicians. Furthermore, the collecting of evidence to properly diagnose a student can take years.

 

Belen is a 9-year-old bilingual (English-Spanish) girl in the fourth grade. Belen was born in the United States and her family has been in the US for 11 years. She has 2 older brothers and a younger sister. Her mother and father speak Spanish, with limited use of English. Belen and her older brothers speak English and Spanish, and her young sister, age 3, speaks only Spanish. English is the language that the school-age siblings primarily use at school and at home. They all speak Spanish with their parents and Belen sometimes needs assistance to translate. Belen has been enrolled in the school district for 5 years where she has received all academic instruction in English. One of Belen’s brothers was identified as learning disabled and receives special education support in schools. According to her mother, Belen had isolated articulation errors with the “r” sounds in Spanish at a young age. Belen also had ear infections as a toddler that resolved by the age of four. There are no other health or behavior concerns. Academic history was given for Belen for the last 3 years of schooling showing that she struggled in both reading and math even with extra support. Cognitive and speech-language assessments were conducted in Spanish and in English. Portions of the WISC-Fourth Edition English and the WISC-IV Spanish were also administered. After completing assessments and considering all the data found in the assessment 360 process, it was determined that Belen qualified as having a Specific Learning Disability, with an emphasis on reading difficulties. Data from assessments ruled out a speech-language impairment. This was an interesting case but is common for many ELLs. Belen struggled to master both English and Spanish because she was learning both languages at the same time without proper instruction. 

·         Parent and teacher interviews

·         Language sampling

·         Observation of the child in the classroom and with peers

·         Dynamic assessment

·         Norm-referenced assessment (when appropriate)

Pros:

·         Nonlinear

·         Panoramic assessment 

·         Includes data from school and home

Cons:

·         Time for testing

·         Time for data collection

·         Results don’t provide ideas for next steps

·         Information about the child’s academic instruction 

·         U.S./non-U.S. academic settings 

·         Stable or interrupted education 

·         Instruction in English vs. another language

·         Information about the supports that have been in place for 2nd language acquisition 

·         Supportive/non-supportive environment 

·         Academic progress similar/not similar to ELL peers