Diagnosing Learning Disabilities

     Diagnosing learning disabilities is an enormously complex process.  The use of clinically sensitive diagnostic instruments is essential to determine the complex and multiple issues involved in school failure.  

     Evaluation batteries are determined individually, based on referral questions.  Therefore, it is important to meet with the parents or other referral sources prior to deciding which tests and measures will be used with your child.  While it is tempting to rely on a routine battery of tests to use with all students, it is rarely useful.  Since students present with a myriad of problems, it is important to use the test instruments which will provide insight into the child’s specific difficulties.  Often, a psychoeducational evaluation begins with traditional measures, such as a cognitive assessment.   As the testing progresses, the assessment will be focused in the direction of issues that begin to unfold during the testing process. 

     It is important to identify assessment instruments with the clinical sensitivity needed to answer referral questions, recommend intervention strategies, and contribute to decision making and clinical outcomes.  The results of the psychoeducational evaluation lay the foundation for educational intervention.