From Ann Logsdon,
Your Guide to Learning Disabilities.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

If your child shows signs of a learning disability, assessment can confirm a diagnosis. If a learning disability is diagnosed, your child may qualify for important special education programs for remediation. Most children with learning disabilities are diagnosed through the public school system during elementary years.

Commonly Diagnosed Types of Learning Disabilities and Disorders:

• Basic reading or dyslexia;
• Reading comprehension;
• Basic writing or dysgraphia;
• Written expression;
• Basic Math or dyscalculia;
• Applied math;
• Listening comprehension, auditory processing disorders, or receptive language ; and
• Oral expression, communication, or expressive language.

• Common Characteristics of Learning Disabilities
• Early Signs of Learning Disabilities

Why Does Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities Usually Occur in Elementary School?

• Learning disabilities cannot be reliably diagnosed until students have been formally taught in basic subject areas;
• Many psychologists recommend waiting until children are at least six years old before evaluating intelligence for more valid and reliable test scores; and
• Students from minority groups with cultural and socioeconomic differences benefit from having at least two years of education and socialization before testing. This helps to reduce the effect of their cultural and language differences on their test performance.

As with intelligence testing, achievement testing is more reliable after that time.

Response to Intervention is a New Way to Diagnose Learning Disabilities

Although it is likely that standardized testing will continue to play a role in the special education process, recent IDEA regulatory changes include an alternative to testing and cutoff scores. Response to intervention (RTI) is a new way to determine if a child has a learning disability and needs special education services. RTI is a process that gets help to students faster and eliminates the need for kids to "fail" before they get individualized help. Learn more about response to intervention for diagnosis of learning disabilities.

Early Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities and Diagnostic Labels

Early diagnosis is complex and requires careful consideration of several important issues:

• Early identification is important because early intervention can dramatically increase your child's chances for success in school.
• Diagnosis of young children is challenging because they grow at different rates. Some change rapidly during early developmental stages.
• Differences among students' language, cultural, and socialization skills at this age during the preschool years are to be expected, and they can also negatively affect assessment scores.
• Assessing intelligence too early can yield a general intelligence score that underestimates the child's true abilities.

Schools may diagnose young children as Developmentally Delayed if they show significant weaknesses in cognitive, social/emotional, fine or gross motor skills, communication, or behavioral skills.

Typically, diagnosis of Specific Learning Disabilities and use of that label will not occur before the child approaches third grade.

Developmental Delay is viewed as a less restrictive label because it acknowledges the possible temporary nature of developmental delays. Many children with developmental delays may catch up with peers with appropriate intervention as they grow and will not be diagnosed with learning disabilities in the future. Developmental delays can be assessed through early intervention programs, by pediatricians, and through assessments conducted at public schools. These assessments help to determine if:

• Children are reaching developmental milestones when they should; and
• The area and degree of delay.

Common Assessments and Tests Used for Diagnosis in Infancy and Early Childhood:

• Battelle Developmental Inventory
• Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence
• Bayley Scales of Infant Development
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
• Vision and Eye Examinations

The Learning Disability Assessments Process

Parents, educators, or other adults who suspect learning disabilities refer children to the school principal or counselor for evaluation. Before students are evaluated, schools arrange a formal meeting where educators, and other professionals discuss the child's history and performance in school. Parents are important members of this team. The team, sometimes called the IEP team, determines if assessment is needed. They consider any other factors affecting the child's learning and ensure they are addressed before assessment begins. Examples of factors that should be addressed before testing include attendance, physical problems such as hearing or vision difficulty, and frequent moves to different schools.

Who Conducts Assessments for LDs?

Assessments are usually conducted by school personnel. Evaluation teams may include school psychologists, teachers, educational diagnosticians, or occupational, physical, or speech therapists. If needed, outside professionals such as physicians, psychiatrists, social workers, or others may be involved.

Assessments Used in Learning Disability Diagnostic Testing

Several types of assessments and procedures are used in testing for LDs:

• Intelligence Tests: Also called IQ tests, these instruments measure aptitude. IQ tests include activities designed to provide a complete picture of how students learn. Typical tests include language-based and visual reasoning.
• Developmental and Social History: Usually completed by parents or guardians, these narrative questionnaires provide important facts about the student's development.
• Records Review: Research on the student's background can help examiners identify other factors possibly contributing to the student's learning problems.
• Behavioral Observations:May identify factors in the classroom affecting the student's learning.
• Achievement Testing:Determines the child's current skill levels in academic skills.
• Adaptive Behavior:Assesses a student's ability to perform tasks necessary to maintain self care, interact in socially appropriate ways, and to safely work in and around his school and home.