Learning Disabilities

Children and adolescents with learning disabilities typically perform substantially below the level expected of them for their age, education, and level of intelligence on standardized tests individually administered to them. Learning disabilities manifest in a young person’s significantly decreased performance in tasks involving reading, writing and/or math. Learning disabilities are usually first diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, and they significantly impair a young person’s academic progress. Learning disabilities co-occur with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) approximately 50% of the time.

Tests to assess for learning disabilities include the following:

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) (for children 6-16 years old) – a widely used set of tests to assess a child’s intellectual abilities (IQ) and cognitive processing skills.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) – (for individuals 16 years and older) – same as the WISC-IV but designed for adolescents and adults.

Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement – a comprehensive set of tests that measure a child’s or adolescent’s general intellectual ability, specific cognitive abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language, and academic achievement.

Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities – a set of tests which measures an individual’s general intellectual ability and specific cognitive abilities, particularly in the areas of information-processing, working memory, planning, naming speed, and attention.

Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-4) – a test that yields clinically useful information about oral reading rate, accuracy and comprehension.

Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) – a test which assesses phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming. A deficit in one or more of the three kinds of phonological processing abilities (phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming) is viewed as the most common cause of learning disabilities in general, and of reading disabilities in particular.

Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE) – a measure of an individual’s ability to pronounce printed words accurately and fluently. The test measures both the ability to sound out words quickly and accurately and the ability to recognize familiar words as whole units or sight words. These skills are critical in the development of overall reading ability.

KeyMath – a diagnostic inventory of essential mathematics. The KeyMath consists of a battery of subtests that provide an accurate measurement of a student’s math skills.