Where no one has gone before.1

The science fiction television series, Star Trek, offered many memorable characters and symbols, but perhaps none is as familiar as this quotation. It was introduced as the title of the fifth episode of the first season, in which the crew was sent a billion light years from their galaxy. The words continued to introduce subsequent episodes and came to represent exploration into the unknown for a generation.

We use these words here to introduce this issue of Topics in Language Disorders. The quotation is apt because the research in this issue ventures into unknown scientific territory to explore areas relevant to language assessment for children who are learning as their first language the variety of English known as African American English (AAE). Although this work is innovative, the authors acknowledge its foundations in the work of other language scientists who have led the quest to understand language variation and to build unbiased assessment options for students with diverse cultural linguistic experiences (e.g., Green, 2002; Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2003; Washington & Craig, 1992; Wolfram, 1970).

To take readers into areas where no one has gone before, issue editors Frances Burns and Gloria Weddington invited authors who were conducting new empirical studies to apply their scientific findings in order to address issues of language assessment for speakers of AAE. Taking up the charge, the authors in this issue report original research that addresses questions about a population that is less studied, likely to be misdiagnosed (either over-or underrepresented in the population of children with language disorders), and particularly subject to confounding issues of race, dialect, and socioeconomic status (SES).

Within this issue, readers will find investigations into preschool and school-aged children with known disorders and children who are typically developing. They will read about research studies that utilize familiar and more exotic research methods and that investigate traditional tools of language and literacy assessment for diverse populations, as well as introducing new ones. The authors convey respect for the information that can come from families and also respect for AAE as a language system with deep historical roots and with some notable differences from general American English that can influence how children perform on both the expressive and receptive aspects of assessment tasks. The field of communication science and disorders has embraced the idea that difference does not represent deficit, but clinicians need guidance on how to proceed when working with children whose language experiences do not match those measured by traditional language assessment tools.

In this issue, Johnson describes evidence that shows how fast mapping of novel vocabulary can provide a framework for conducting dynamic assessment of language development for children learning AAE. Terry, Jackson, Evangelou, and Smith consider how language differences can influence responses on a sentence recall task that cannot be fully compensated by awarding points for dialectal variations at the word level. Jackson and Pearson look more deeply into the individual patterns of dialect use, specifically related to zero marking, which can be confusing to clinicians, and offer suggestions for interpreting risk factors. Champion, Rosa-Lugo, Rivers, and McCabe discuss associations between use of AAE and performance on a formal test of reading comprehension. They promote caution in test interpretation related to disorders and also note considerations related to other questions about dialect flexibility and reading comprehension. Pruitt, Garrity, and Oetting describe research on the use of family histories in identifying risks for language impairment. They report similarities in this population to prior research with other populations and evidence that shows particularly high risks for language impairment in children whose families have histories that are positive for language as well as literacy disorders and low SES.

In total, this issue presents five original research studies that venture into uncharted territory. It is an enterprise that can be fraught with challenges and criticisms of one's motives. The authors present their studies and data with scientific objectivity as well as an eye toward clinical interpretations that can have immediate relevance for reflective clinicians. Language disorder specialists seek new methods for making sound decisions about which children may need services for the treatment of language impairment. These are complementary to different decisions in the broader societal context about how to improve educational systems in such a way that all children have the opportunity to develop the skills in order to compete academically and to qualify for rewarding jobs that depend on formal education (e.g., Delpit, 1995).

For most people, unknown territory is scary but information can make the journey feel more secure. This is an important contribution of this issue of Topics in Language Disorders. We trust that readers will find this issue to be a helpful guide for further ventures into the unknown while remaining grounded in goals to provide appropriate assessments that are tuned to the needs of all children and families affected by language disorders.

-Nickola Wolf Nelson, PhD

-Katharine G. Butler, PhD

Editor (Nelson)

Editor Emerita (Butler)

REFERENCES