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Any child
suspected to have LD needs a comprehensive assessment, with the
active cooperation of parents. a comprehensive assessment needs
a multidisciplinary team comprising a
clinical/educational psychologist, pediatricians/psychiatrist,
special educator, social worker and speech therapist.
Stages
of diagnosis
- Adequate
history (information) of the child's problems
- Detailed report
from the teacher
- Examination and
testing of the child
- Counseling of
the child and parents about the problem and prognosis.
- Evolving an
appropriate management plan
Examination
of the child includes:
A
physical/neurological examination and tests, if necessary, of
hearing and vision.
Psychologist's tests
These
are the basic types:
- Tests to
measure Intelligence (IQ)
- Tests of
academic achievements
- Tests of other
special abilities
Specialists may need to examine the child to rule out disorders
such as Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD),
emotional disorders and speech disorders.
Psychologist's assessment
of Learning
Disability
A
range of tests are administered to the child to find out the
factors hindering progress at school.
a.
General intelligence test
The
most common IQ test for assessing intelligence is Wechler
Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), originally
developed in the US and modified to suit Indian children. This
test is suited for children with reading and spelling
difficulties as it involves reading and writing.
A
normal child scores equally well or equally bad on all scales.
On the other hand , the Dyslexic child does well in one set of
tests and badly in another.
b.
Reading assessment
To
assess the reading age and reading disabilities of the child,
there are a number of standardized tests like Schonell's
reading test and Woodcock reading test. These tests
are standardized for western children and are mostly unsuitable
for Indian children.
On
the bother hand, an informal reading assessment can be done and
more valuable, individualized information can be obtained.
Specific reading disabilities are recorded by analyzing the
reading performance. These disabilities are generally : reading
word by word, omissions, reversals, insertions and guessing at
words.
C.
Assessment of spelling
The
ability to spell is recognized as complex and multifaceted
process. Besides general intelligence, the following factors
affect the ability to spell words:
- The ability to
spell words that are phonetic
- The ability to
spell words that involve roots, prefixes, suffixes and rules
for combining
- The ability to
look at the word and reproduce it later.
An efficient assessment procedure can clearly
outline the relevant skills a child has or has not mastered,
pinpoint patterns of errors and provide directions for
systematic remedial instructions.
d.
Assessment of arithmetic skills
Many
disabled learners have difficulty learning mathematics ,
experiencing problems at all age levels. There are a number of (commercial)
math's assessment kits; however, they yield little usable
teaching information. On the other hand, informal assessment
which consists of observation, oral interviews and error
analysis can provide us with enough information regarding the
nature of the child's disabilities.
Other
areas assessed include handwriting for pre academic skills.
These include visual discrimination, auditory discrimination,
fine motor skills, verbal fluency, memory, attention and
handedness. Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills,
Aston Index and Man - Suiter Test are some of the
popular tests used to assess the readiness skills of a child.
The
assessment report predominantly brings out the level at which
the child functions in each area of learning skills, and the
nature of the disabilities that the child exhibits. Based on
this report, an individualized remedial program is prepared for
each child. |
