Seven case studies are presented to illustrate how the tasks in the proposed test battery provide the tools to distinguish language differences due to development or dialect from true signs of delay or disorder. The case studies exemplify different combinations of language strengths and weakness found among participants of extensive field research in the age range from 4 to 9 years. Special attention is paid to certain aspects of language development, such as time clauses or double wh-questions, in which dialect features play no role. All levels of performance, from the highest to the lowest, are found in children who are speakers of Mainstream American English (MAE) and the same is true for those whose language patterns indicate a strong variation from MAE.KEYWORDS: Profile, path of progress, subdomain, item types, strength, weakness, interpretationLearning Outcomes: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to identify (1) how breaking down the items on the proposed diagnostic test into subtypes helps to profile the child's strengths and weaknesses, and (2) why it is vital to consider all three factors-development, dialect, and disorder-when evaluating a child's language.First and foremost, the goal for a dialectsensitive language assessment is to help clinicians identify the signs of language disorder in children without penalizing them for dialect features or typical linguistic development. Some children will exhibit signs of all three factors (i.e., disorder, dialect, and development); others will exhibit just one or two signs in different combinations. The ideal assessment helps clinicians recognize when dialect features are present alone or in conjunction with signs of delayed or disordered development, and also when delay or disorder is apparent, but dialect features are not. As with all assessment Evaluating Language Variation: Distinguishing Dialect and

This article proposes that any dialect-neutral screening test should consist of two parts: one part using contrastive items to screen for Language Variation Status (Mainstream American English [MAE] or a degree of variation from MAE), and a second part using noncontrastive items to screen for degree of risk for language disorder (low, medium, or high). The two scores are interpreted together in forming an overall clinical profile of a child. The implications for further diagnostic testing of both MAE and non-MAE speakers who exhibit risk for language disorder are discussed. Most importantly, for the African American child, viewing the results of the two types of proposed screening items together clears the ''variation due to speech and language dialect'' issue out of the way so that if further evaluation is needed, it is done for valid reasons, not superficial ones.KEYWORDS: Language Variation Status, Diagnostic Risk Status, degree of risk, variation from mainstream, optimal, obligatory, contrastive aspects of language, noncontrastive aspects of language, risk for disorder Learning Outcomes: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe contrastive aspects of language that can be used to identify African American English (AAE) dialect usage in children ages 4 to 12 years, and (2) describe noncontrastive aspects of language that can be used to determine degree of risk for a language disorder in children ages 4 to 9 years, regardless of whether AAE or Mainstream American English (MAE) is spoken.