Learning Disabilities and Assessments

A “learning disability” is a catch all term that refers to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning.  In other words, you may have a child with average abilities who should be able to learn, but who struggles with learning, because something is getting in their way. 

Frequently parents of children who are experiencing learning struggles will seek out tutoring services, assuming that this will “fix” the problem.  Learning disabilities cannot be “cured” or fixed.  Learning disabilities can be worked with or managed.  The issue is to identify if the child has a learning disability so it can be managed appropriately.

A learning disability can be successfully managed.  If you are the parent of a child or an adult who is wondering if they have a learning disability, you should get a psychoeducational assessment.  The person who can give you this assessment, is a registered psychologist.  Registered psychologists have the ability to assess and provide a diagnosis. 

The main focus of a psychoeducational assessment is to determine learning disabilities and the learning abilities and style of the individual, be they adults, teens or children.  The assessment should screen for other issues that may affect learning, issues such as depression.  Screening for these and other conditions, should be part of the assessment.  Thus, background, history, emotional state, and other information should be collected as part of the assessment.

The assessment always includes determining intellectual abilities and academic skills, using standardized and normed tests (there are a variety of these on the market and current research indicates they are of equal value).  From there the psychologist will add other tests that will examine a variety of cognitive functions (e.g., memory) and other skills. 

Finally, the psychologist interprets the test results.  This involves more than simply looking at global scores and saying that the child is “average”.  Observation of the child’s behaviour during the testing and examination of individual scores are important in understanding the child’s learning style.  An experienced psychologist can take all of these factors into consideration when interpreting results and formulating the diagnosis.  Thus, a more complete picture of the individual is obtained.

When looking for a psychoeducational assessment, you should ask a number of questions to ensure you are getting the quality of service that you are seeking.

1.  Who does the assessment?  Does the psychologist do it all, or is it handed over to an assistant? 

2.  Is the person doing the assessment registered with a regulatory body? Some psychologists will use a non-registered psychometrist to do the testing.  The psychologist is responsible for the actions of this person and the psychologist should have some direct contact with each person that they assess.

3.  How long or how many assessments have they done? You want an individual that has had both good training and experience with these issues.

4.  How is the assessment time structure?  For example, an adult may be able to handle 4 or 5 hours of testing in one day with a few breaks, a young child, cannot. 

5.  How much time do they spend in providing feedback?  If you have questions about the results of the testing, will they spend the time that you need to understand what has been found? 

6.  Will you get a diagnosis if one is appropriate?  There are some “clinics” that provide a lengthy report, but you or your child never see the psychologist and a diagnosis is not given at the end.  The problem with this is the school system can tell you that your child has not been formally diagnosed with a learning disability, so they do not need to provide any extra service even if problems are identified.

7.  Will the report help you to understand our child's learning style? Will it contain specific recommendations, tailored to your needs?

Quality of assessments and services can vary. Asking a few questions will clarify that you are receiving the right kind of assessment from a duly qualified professional. 

Thanks to Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW for help with editing.

Estes Moustacalis, Ph.D. C.Psych (Dr. “M”)

info@oakvillepsychologist.com

www.oakvillepsychologist.com

905 617-8308