LEARNING DISABILITIES

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Psychoeducational/ Neuropsychological/ Developmental assessment by a board certified pediatric neuropsychologist.

My child is struggling in school. I’m not sure if she has a learning problem or maybe ADHD; I don’t know, maybe both! Another parent told me that maybe she has a “sensory processing disorder.” Someone else said that it could be an “auditory processing disorder.” I saw on a website that “vision therapy” cures dyslexia, and on another one a neurologic chiropractor promotes that he can cure attention problems. I talked to someone at a “brain” center and they said that my child probably had “hemispheric imbalance” and if so they could fix it with special brain exercises that cost about $10,000. She’s getting something called Tier I help at school, but things are getting worse. I’m so confused…what do I do?

The above vignette is a very common call to the office. It is incredibly challenging for parents to figure out what kinds of evaluations and what kinds of services/interventions/treatments that their child needs. Below, you’ll find some information that might be helpful, as well as several links to reputable organizations that can help you to be an informed consumer and get your child the appropriate diagnostic and treatment services.

School-based evaluations and those done at for-profit learning centers can be a solid start to figuring out what’s happening with a struggling student, but these evaluations are not diagnostic and they do not provide all of the critical information needed about the underlying neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses of struggling students.

Some parents will spend extraordinary amounts of money on “testing” and interventions at “brain training” centers that promote amazing outcomes with lots of “neuro” and “brain” jargon on their websites and promotional materials. While this is enticing to parents who are willing to do anything for their kids, there are little if any solid research/outcome studies in peer-reviewed journals supporting these very expensive programs.

Parents need to be informed consumers about what science says about the assessment and treatment of developmental and learning disabilities (ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia).

Check out these links for helpful information:

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Dr. Conroy is board certified in pediatric neuropsychology. He is also certified as a school psychologist. He was the clinical and administrative director of a birth-to-three intervention program for 10 years as well as serving as a consultant to a Level III Intensive Care Nursery and Neonatal follow-up program. He directed a hospital based Child Evaluation Center. He has worked in both public and private schools conducting diagnostic assessments of developmental and learning issues. Dr. Conroy taught the testing courses in a school psychology department at a university. He supervised and trained pre-doctoral psychology students and pediatric medical residents in developmental and learning issues at a regional medical center.