Testing and Diagnosis
The learning disability may have multiple causes. Generally, when child start facing difficulty in learning which obviously shows impact on his academic and class room performance. A parent have concern as what could be the reason. A teacher would surely want to find out reason to help child.
Before really going into the process of testing it is preferred to go through examination which involves understanding the child’s
1. Developmental history
2. Family medical history
3. Vision
4. Hearing
5. Physical-motor abilities
6. Neurological status
And apart from above all. it is prioritized that child’s total environment should be explored first before any formal diagnostic testing.
It is very important that the team which is testing a child must ensure that the student’s lack of progress is not primarily the result of cultural factors, environmental or economic disadvantage, limited English proficiency, a visual, hearing, or motor disability, intellectual disability (mental retardation) or an emotional disturbance.
A number of researches have been conducted to understand whether any relationship is there between achievement and intelligence. It is felt by many that though in initial stages of learning the effect of intelligence may not be visible but as child grows and becomes older, as level of grade increases the reading tasks becomes more complicated requiring more of comprehension, interpretation so on which makes us feel that intelligence will become one of the necessary factor to determine reading or learning difficulty, though it is not only test on which diagnosis is based on.
Whom should you approach for right understanding of child with learning difficulty?
Once child start facing difficulty in reading, writing, math either in understanding or expressing it is understood that he or she needs some assistance. Generally we send them for extra classes, additional tuitions. But even after that, if difficulty continues leading to lagging behind in class works, home works, getting low grades,
Then what you as a parent do? What you as teacher do?
The immediate answer for parent generally is to change the school and for teacher is blame child as lazy, in attentive so on. Either doesn’t really help child.
The meetings will be going on between parents, teachers, administrators and end of year comes with no help to student.
So please do not waste time if child faces difficulty even after support for about 6 months. Here are the steps to be taken for betterment of child. Here we are trying to help child….. please remember !!!
Step 1: Try consulting any Pediatrician for any underlying health related causes for child’s difficulties. Most of the time the family doctor should be able to guide you further if there is no health problem, as where to go further to rule out other issues which may cause educational problems in child.
But even if your physician doesn’t suggest ….. if child still finds difficulty in learning then better you follow
Step 2: Consult Ophthalmologist to rule out eye related problems like eye sight causing board reading in classroom etc.
Step 3: Consult Speech and Audiologist for any ear related problems to rule out low hearing leading to inattentiveness so on
When you ruled out all other problems of causes for educational difficulty then you may surely have to consult…..
Step 4: Clinical Psychologist: Psychologist will do all necessary assessments which will help to come to a broad understanding of child in the areas of Intelligence, reading, writing, understanding, reasoning so on. You will get a detailed report. Psychologist will counsel you explaining everything in the report. Psychologist will direct you to Special Educator for remedial assistance.
Step 5 Remedial Educator: He or she will do proper evaluation of grade level performance of your child in the areas of math, languages and also try to understand difficulties which your child is facing. Which means for example your child is studying presently 4 class but because of difficulty in learning child might not have understood certain concepts of previous classes and unless and until those concepts are understood child will not be able to understand further classroom teaching. Once the evaluation is done with some informal checklists your child will be understood better by educator. Educator after few days of observation will come out with a plan and discuss with you as how he or she going to help your child.
Your child can be helped by special educator or specially trained teacher who can understand the needs of child.
There are also many regular teachers who have interest in teaching children with learning difficulty, and have experience. All that child needs here is Empathy of teacher, understanding of difficulty of child and systematic plan to improve child performance.