Learning Disabilities Program

Evaluation

The evaluation takes a little more than half a day. While the child visits each specialist on the team, parents meet with program staff to review the child's history and discuss current concerns. The specific evaluations are as follows:

• The Neurology specialist will evaluate strength, reflexes, coordination, fine and gross motor skills. This information is used to determine whether there are neurodevelopmental signs of a learning disorder or possibly signs suggesting neurological impairment. Children will also be evaluated for ADHD.
   
• The Neuropsychologist will administer a selection of cognitive tests and interpret them in order to characterize the child's overall learning profile.
   
• The Oral and Written Language specialist will assess understanding and use of language, reading and writing achievement, and important relationships between oral and written language.
   
• The Mathematics specialist will assess performance on an array of arithmetic, geometric and logical tasks to assess the level of mathematics achievement as well as the child's mathematics learning style.
   
• The Psychologist interviews both parent(s) and child to screen for the presence of emotional issues both past and present that may affect or be affected by academic and social performance.

In the afternoon, after families leave, the team meets to develop an integrated picture of the child and an appropriate intervention plan. One member of the evaluation team, the Case Coordinator, leads the team meeting and will write a report summarizing the discussion and recommendations. This report is additional to the individual specialist reports.