Parents:

What should I do if I think my child has problems learning?

One of the first things that you can do is get in contact with your child’s teacher or pediatrician. When you talk to your child’s teacher about your concerns, find out whether s/he has seen similar things. Ask the teacher if your child is doing things that are typical for the age or grade. Then ask if the teacher has any suggestions for you at home.

Since your pediatrician has not had the opportunity to see your child outside of the office, you might want to focus more on whether or not s/he sees your son/daughter as meeting normal developmental milestones. If your concerns surround attention, hearing, vision, or general development, you may want to ask if there are any screening services that the pediatrician offers for these areas.

If you talk with the teacher and pediatrician, but still have concerns, you may also contact the school district to find out about Child Find and problem solving services. School district special education offices or the local school will usually have information about these services.

What kinds of tests might be given to my child if they are being considered for special education services in school?

When the team at school decides to request your permission to conduct an evaluation, the tests used will depend on what areas of concern have been identified. When your permission for testing is sought, you should receive an explanation of the kinds of tests that may be administered. Some common areas that are tested include:

Intellectual ability: helps in uncovering some of the strengths and weaknesses that your child has in learning; it also helps to give you and the school an idea of how quickly your child will learn various things, and at what level of completeness.

Achievement/Academic Skills: provides an overview of your child’s current performance in areas such as reading, writing, and math; it lets you know if your child is learning these key skills at, below, or above grade level.

Behavior/Social and Emotional: sometimes there are behaviors or emotions that make it difficult for your child to learn and progress; when there are concerns in this area, it is important to identify what might be done to help your child handle his/her behaviors or emotions so that progress may be made.

Information Processing: when a student has trouble with learning, it is often important to look at the ways they learn best and those that are more difficult. Some students have great memories, for example, while others do not.

Hearing and Vision: to rule out that a child may have hearing or vision difficulties, the school or your doctor may conduct additional screening in hearing and vision.