Rebecca S. Blakeman, PhD

Licensed Psychologist
 

The scenes are all too familiar.  Parents and children spend hours battling over homework that should take 20 minutes to complete.  Children “know” their spelling words Thursday night, but miss most of them the next morning on the spelling test.  Teachers complain that students aren’t working too their full potential…despite appearing to be of “normal” intelligence.  For many of the students involved in these scenarios, an unrecognized learning disability is the catalyst for academic, and even behavior, problems.  So what’s a parent to do?

If you think your child may have a learning disability…or if you are simply confused by the fact that your child does not seem to be achieving in school up to his/her potential, talk to your child’s teacher.  Share your concerns with the teacher, and ask if he/she has similar concerns.  Get the teacher’s perspective on your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and what seems to help in the classroom. 

If your teacher shares your concerns, or if you are concerned that your child will begin to fail if a solution is not found, request intervention services.  For most schools, this will likely involve a Student Support Team (SST), which is designed to try to “problem solve” a child’s academic difficulties.  The SST model does not always resolve all academic difficulties.  If adequate progress is not made after the SST strategies have been implemented, it is often most appropriate for a child to be evaluated more thoroughly.

If you think your child may have a learning disability, and do not feel that the school is recognizing this, self-refer your child for an evaluation to see if they qualify for special education services.  Requests for such an evaluation should be in writing, and should provide specific details about why you think your child may have a learning disability.  Parents must sign a consent form, giving the school permission to test their child.  Generally, schools have up to 60 days to complete an evaluation, once the request for testing is approved and the consent form is signed.

If the school does not proceed with a comprehensive evaluation, or if you prefer to work “outside” of the school, you can have your child evaluated by a private psychologist.  This process can sometimes provide more rapid results, and may provide more thorough testing.  However, it can be an expensive process that most insurance companies do not cover.  In some situations, it is possible for a private psychologist to perform additional testing after the initial school evaluation, which can mean a substantial savings for families. 

If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress, take action now.  Do not wait until the beginning of the next school year, as this will only limit your child’s ability to make academic gains over the summer.  If your child has a learning disability, identifying the problem now, or during the summer months, will help ensure that the next school year starts with appropriate services in place so that your child will be better able to achieve to his/her potential.