Language
The language styles used by many African American children are often quite different from the expected communication patterns in educational settings. This discrepancy contributes to over identification and referral of African American students for speech language evaluations (Rivers, Hyter, & DeJarnette, 2012). Speech-language pathologists must be well acquainted with the rules of African American English (AAE) in order to appropriately evaluate African American children who speak that dialect. In addition, they must be familiar with communication styles and certain speech acts which are also common among African American students.