AbstractFederal legislation demands that bilingual children be assessed in their primary language or mode of communication. This means that bilingual children with possible handicapping conditions must be assessed to determine their dominant language, and that further testing must be conducted in their primary mode of communication. This paper explores the issues involved in assessing bilingualism and handicapping conditions (e.g., learning disabilities) of bilingual, culturally different children and evaluates the assessment methods that have been devised.