At any time during the school year, at any grade level, you may realize that your student’s learning struggles and lack of school success might be caused by a learning disability or learning difference.  If you would answer two or more of these questions with a “yes” it’s time to pursue more help than your student is receiving now.

• Were grades on the most recent report card disappointing? Has that been the case for several report cards in a row?
• Are there frequent late assignments or others that are mysteriously missing?
• Is your student often confused about the directions for homework or special projects?
• In spite of lots of study time and preparation, are most test scores low in one or all subjects?
• Do you hear complaints about reading for 20 minutes a day after school?
• Are you puzzled about why math homework is so difficult, even with lots of help from you or maybe even a tutor?
• Is it difficult to read the homework assignments, whether it is math, spelling or a story?
• Is there a strong and persistent feeling that your student isn’t reading at grade level?
• Even with a lot of effort, is your student’s spelling well below their grade level?
• Have you been hearing a statements like “I’m not as smart as everyone else”.

Your first step is to gather more information so that you can begin to see a bigger picture. Lack of school success doesn’t automatically mean the presence of a learning disability, dyslexia or a diagnosis of ADHD. Sometimes it is assumed, even by some teachers and pediatricians, that all students who are struggling in school experience either Dyslexia or ADHD. There are so many possible factors contributing to learning difficulties that immediately putting one of these labels on the student can mean that they never get a real diagnosis or the help that they need to become a successful learner.

Before jumping to any conclusions or accepting a well-meaning guess, it is helpful to take some time out and begin at the beginning. Very often we forget that the first logical step is to talk with the student. The age of your student will, of course, have a big effect on how you word your questions.  In a friendly and matter-of-fact way you can explain that you know they are having problems with a few things in school and that you want to help. Ask if she knows what is difficult for her. Also find out what she likes the most about school and what classes and activities she looks forward to.  How does she feel when she’s about to take a test? What is it like when she is trying to understand what the teacher wants her to do?  Is she losing some of her assignments?

These are just some starter questions and your conversation can be guided by what your student says. Try not to put words in his mouth by asking something like “Are tests scary?’ or “Do you hate science?” Questions that can be answered only with a “yes” or “no” are usually leading questions that may not be at all helpful in discovering what a student is experiencing.

After the conversation with your student, you can move on with these next steps.

• Be sure to find out if your student, of any age, is being bullied or harassed at school, on the bus, in an afterschool program, or on social media.  Bullying can happen at any age, even in kindergarten, and students don’t always tell their teacher or their parents that it’s happening. Fear and anxiety seriously interfere with the ability to focus and learn and can lead to serious health problems caused by anxiety and stress. In some communities, it is one of the reasons that students drop out of school. Unfortunately, some schools lack the resources to stop bullying, leaving some students at risk of not only serious trauma, but also physical injury.

• Make an appointment to talk with the teacher(s).  Ask to see samples of your child’s work and tests and also samples for comparison of what is considered to be grade-level work. Notice any differences between the quality of work done in the classroom and that done for homework with one-on-one help. Request scores for recent reading and math evaluations—is he working below grade level on tests and/or on daily work?  Ask the teacher about anything obvious that appears to be contributing to a lack of academic success or evidence that there is a learning difficulty or learning difference.

If your child is missing assignments or is not prepared for tests, find out from the teacher how assignments are posted, how many days in advance does the class know that a test is coming, and if every student is expected to use a planner or some other way of keeping track of their work.

Here are some more ideas for steps that you can take if your student is struggling in school this year, either for the first time or as an on-going concern.

• Take a look at your student’s environment outside of the classroom.  Are they following a schedule that includes plenty of rest at night, outdoor exercise and fresh air every day, and enough time to do homework away from screen time, including social media?  Is their bedroom, or maybe even your home, a chaotic place that invites disorganization and misplaced homework, permission slips, school supplies, and gym shoes? 

• How is your student’s diet? Many kids go off to school in the morning having eaten only a piece of toast, a granola bar,  or sugary low-nutrition cereal…or worse yet, they skip breakfast entirely. Everyone needs some protein and complex carbohydrates to be ready for a busy morning. A hungry student of any age will not be a successful learner, may become irritable, have difficulty paying attention and remembering what they are hearing from the teacher, and will probably be lethargic and exhausted from lack of nourishment for more than a dozen hours, since dinner the night before.  Poor nutrition can contribute to problems with focus, attention, memory and other symptoms that often give the impression that the student has ADHD, dyslexia, or a learning disability. 

• If you have learned from the teacher, or you already know that your student is behind the expected achievement levels, your next step may be to find a well-qualified learning specialist or tutor to work individually with your child as soon as possible. If you know that one-on-one tutoring has not ever been helpful, then the next step is to schedule a comprehensive educational diagnostic assessment for your student as soon as possible. Your student is not going to “out-grow” the root causes and contributing factors of their learning struggles.

• The next step is to speak with the teacher and school counselor to find out what assessments may be available through the school district, right at your student’s school.  Unfortunately, many parents across the country are being told that a comprehensive educational diagnostic assessment or psycho-educational assessment is no longer available in their school district or they are told that they will be on a long waiting list before testing will be available. 

• Some students are being placed by the special education team at their school on an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or are provided with a 504 Plan for Accommodations without any testing being conducted, or maybe with a short screening which does not provide a professional diagnosis of the problem.  In such cases, parents quickly discover that they still don’t know the cause of their student’s learning and academic difficulties and that their student is continuing to struggle.

If you are seeking an independent assessment it is important to find a very well-qualified educational diagnostician or school psychologist who has a strong background working in education, with a graduate degree or certification in educational assessment. It is important to be cautious about who you choose to work with to conduct a private assessment. With so many possible causes, sometimes of a complex nature, this label will not get to the heart of the matter of what the student really needs. Any testing that is limited to only looking for a specific problem, including dyslexia or ADHD, will probably cost less than a full comprehensive diagnostic assessment, but the results are not particularly helpful.

In some areas in the United States there is a lack of diagnostic services not only in school districts, but there is also a shortage of professional educational diagnosticians or educational psychologists in private practice.  Fortunately, for families living in an area lacking services, there is now the availability of remote assessments.  Again, it is critical to be sure that you are receiving a legitimate diagnostic assessment provided by a well-qualified professional with a graduate degree and experience in this field.  

Don’t be afraid to seek the help that your son or daughter needs to be a successful learner. It’s never too late to start. Even students still struggling in their first year of college have been able to “get back on track” and had a rewarding academic experience that has opened up wonderful new possibilities and choices that have been life-changing.

If you have questions about the comprehensive educational diagnostic assessments which we provide in-person for families living in Oregon and Washington,  or the remote services for students living in all 50 states or even internationally, you are welcome to reach out to me by email at: drminton@mintonlearning.com.  Public and private schools and homeschool groups are invited to contact me to learn more about assessment services for their students.