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to gain valuable insight into the family’s experiences and strengths. It is important that clinicians working with Aboriginal families are equipped with the appropriate knowledge and resources to support families in ensuring Aboriginal ways of communicating are maintained (McLeod, Verdon, & Bennetts Kneebone, 2014; Verdon & McLeod, 2015). The elicitation of the child’s home language and emphasis placed on yarning are instrumental in the assessment process; otherwise, current standardised assessment practices may produce assessment results that determine Indigenous language deficit rather than Indigenous language difference (Gould, 2008a, 2008b; Pearce & Williams, 2013). Conclusion In most cases in Australia, the current SLP assessment methodology follows a traditional western approach that remains static even when assessing different populations. Aboriginal people place significant importance on yarning as a mode of communicating and the universal assessment methodology used by SLPs does not facilitate yarning nor cater for Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. Many SLPs are also unfamiliar with Aboriginal yarning and talking through story and therefore assessments continue to be conducted in “conventional” western ways. As a consequence, Aboriginal ways of communicating are often undervalued and labelled as a deficit or impairment. This paper has highlighted the importance of changing traditional SLP assessment methodologies to incorporate Aboriginal ways of communicating through a new methodology called assessment yarning . SLPs need to develop their literacies in Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous modes of communication to avoid reifying Indigenous language deficit. The absence of culturally responsive assessment methodologies such as yarning not only runs the risk of mis-/over-diagnosis of speech/ language impairment but it reproduces certain racial hierarchical arrangements whereby Aboriginal language/ communication styles are framed as inherently deficient and inferior. Of most importance is the need to ensure that knowledge of communication difference translates to proppa assessment and management and mitigates against the risk of misdiagnosis (Gould, 2008a; Malcolm, 2011). While it is beyond the scope of this paper, further discussions are required regarding how to support speech pathologists in accurately analysing an Aboriginal child’s communication abilities once assessment yarning and the assessment process have been completed. References Ball, J. (2009). Supporting young Indigenous children’s language development in Canada: A review of research on needs and promising practices. Canadian Modern Language Review , 66 , 19–47. Besarab, D., & Ng’andu, B. (2010). Yarning about yarning as a legitimate method in Indigenous Research. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies , 3 (1), 37–50. Bond, C., Foley, W., & Askew, D. (2016). “It puts a human face on the researched”: A qualitative evaluation of an Indigenous health research governance model. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health , 40 (1), 89–95. Butcher, A. (2008). Linguistic aspects of Australian Aboriginal English. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics , 22 (8), 625–642.

Collard, K., Fatnowna, S., Oxenham, D., Roberts, J., & Rodriquez, L. (2000). Styles, appropriateness and usage of Aboriginal English. Asian Englishes , 3 (2), 82–97. doi: 10.1080/13488678.2000.10801056 de Plevitz, L. (2006). Special schooling for Indigenous students: A new form of racial discrimination? The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , 35 , 44–53. Eades, D. (2013). Aboriginal ways of using English . Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press. Geia, L., Hayes, B., & Usher, K. (2013). Aboriginal storytelling: Towards an understanding of an Indigenous perspective and its implications for research practice. Contemporary Nurse , 46 (1), 13–17. Gould, J. (2008a). Non-standard assessment practices in the evaluation of communication in Australian Aboriginal children. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics , 22 (8), 643–657. Gould, J. (2008b). The affects of language assessment policies in speech-language pathology on the educational experiences of Indigenous students. Current Issues in Language Planning , 9 (3), 299–316. Haynes, W. O., & Pindzola, R. H. (2008). Diagnosis and evaluation in speech pathology (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Hegde, M. N., & Pomaville, F. (2008). Assessment of communication disorders in children . San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing Indigenous Allied Health Australia. (2015). Cultural responsive framework in action: An IAHA framework . Retrieved from http://iaha.com.au/wp-content/ uploads/2015/08/2015-IAHA-Cultural-Responsiveness- Framework-WEB.pdf Malcolm, I. G. (1994). Discourse and discourse strategies in Australian Aboriginal English. World Englishes , 13 (1), 289–396. Malcom, I. G. (2000). “English and inclusivity in education for Indigenous students. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics , 22 (2), 51–66. Malcolm, I. G. (2011). Issues in English language assessment of Indigenous Australians. Language Assessment Quarterly , 8 (2), 190–199. Malcolm, I. G. (2013). The ownership of Aboriginal English in Australia. World Englishes , 32 (1), 42–53. Malcolm, I., Haig, Y., Königsberg, P., Rochecouste, J.,Collard, G., Hill, A., …, May, K. (1999). Two-way English: Towards more user-friendly education for speakers of Aboriginal English . East Perth, WA: Education Department of Western Australia. McLeod, S., Verdon, S., & Bennetts Kneebone, L. (2014). Celebrating Indigenous Australian children’s speech and language competence. Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 29 (2), 118–131. Miller, E., Webster, V., Knight, J., & Comino, E. (2014). The use of a standardized language assessment tool to measure the language development of urban Aboriginal preschoolers. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology , 16 (2), 109–120. Moses, K., & Wigglesworth, G. (2008). The silence of the frogs: Dysfunctional discourse in the “English-only” Aboriginal class- room. In J. Simpson & G. Wigglesworth (Eds.), Children’s language and multilingualism: Indigenous language use at home and school (pp. 129–153). London, UK: Continuum International Publishing. Moses, K., & Yallop, C. (2008). Questions about questions. In J. Simpson & G. Wigglesworth (Eds.), Children’s language and multilingualism: Indigenous

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