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According to a study done by University of Arkansas, Assistant Professor of Communication Disorders, Dr. Edgarita Long. A language barrier exists between American Indians and whites, even when both speak English. The study also indicates, that this lapse in communications may be contributing to the higher dropout rates and the high rates of suicide among American Indian youth.

Dr. Edgarita Long said, "from the test results, it's obvious that American Indian children use language differently than their white peers. But until now, little has been done to assess the ways in which they differ or the extent to which each successfully communicates."

Dr. Long, working through Head Start programs in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, has tested and observed more than 400 Cherokee and non-Indian children. The results from this study have been published in several periodicals, including The Journal of Children's Communications Skills. The findings from Dr. Long's research was presented to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association at their national conference held Sunday, November 21, 1999, in San Francisco by Dr. Long.

Dr. Long's five year study has focused on three, four and five year old children who share both a classroom and and the English language as their only language. The findings indicate that since the children share the same language and integrated peer group that the differences in communication can only be traced to the difference in culture.

Dr. Long used standard communication tests to assess each child. The children were asked to complete four tasks, each requiring a slightly different use of language. The stages of the test included talking to a teacher, holding a conversation with a puppet, speaking on the telephone, and asked to complete a problem solving task.

"Compared to the caucasian students, Cherokee children used briefer statements and employed more non-verbal communication techniques such as gestures and body language," Dr. Long said. "Both groups successfully communicated their wants and needs, but they used very different methods to do so."

Dr. Long found that Cherokee children scored extremely high on their use of receptive language, during another standard test which tested the ability to understand and interpret what other people wanted and in following directions in relation to performing specific tasks. The test, however, showed markedly low scores on their use of expressive language which hindered their ability to communicate to other people what they know.

According to Dr. Long, while different methods of communication are understood and accepted in practical life, problems arise when school children take the standardized tests that assess language performance. These standardized tests focus on the child's use of verbal language without distinguishing or accounting for other forms of communication. Therefore, children who use more non-verbal language receive lower scores, which can lead them to be mis-diagnosed with a communication disorder.

Dr. Long believes that this oversight in standard testing methods has sentenced a disproportionate number of American Indian children to years of speech therapy and special education programs. Additionally, the results of these mis-diagnosis may seriously impact the course of their lives. Both suicide and dropout rates are unusually high in American Indian communities and Dr. Long believes one of the contributors may be the way Indian children are treated during their early education.

Dr. Long said, "Despite the fact that they have no difficulty communicating, these children get labeled as language disabled at a very young age," adding that, for the rest of their education, they are separated from their classmates, treated differently by teachers and peers and led to believe that something is wrong with them."

Long suggests that testing methods be reevaluated and altered to more accurately account for cultural differences, rather than subject another child to mis-diagnosis. This may mean that American Indian children take a different version of the test than the one being administered to non-Indian children. The precedent for different testing has been set with different tests already being administered to children from different economic backgrounds, according to Dr. Long.

"We need to determine the normal parameters of language use among American Indians and design the test around that," Dr. Long explained.