Be aware. You may become totally overwhelmed when you get the results of the special education testing on your child. There is a lot of "stuff" on that report! And much of it sounds like a foreign language to many people.
You get one piece the results from the Intelligence part of the test. This is extremely important information, but know that it will most likely come in disguise.
One of its disguises, or aliases, might be "Broad Cognitive Ability". Another may be "Aptitude." But, basically, they are measures of the same thing - your child's ability to process and learn information. So, for the sake of keeping things simple, let's just call it "aptitude."
As I've stated many times, in order for a child to be considered learning disabled, he has to show an average "aptitude" for learning. He must have the same ability to learn as well as any other child of his age or grade. An average aptitude score would be about 100, with anything between 85 and 115 being in the average range.
There are many different tests that measure a child's aptitude. One of these tests is the WISC-III. The Performance, or Perceptual Organization, section is the part that measures aptitude. It is divided into subtests, or smaller tests, and they assess different things that make up a person's aptitude.
Another common test used to measure aptitude is the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery - Revised. The aptitude section of this test is called the Tests of Cognitive Ability, and the overall aptitude score is called "Broad Cognitive Ability". It also has smaller tests called subtests, to measure aptitude, but they measure aptitude in a little different way than the WISC does.
There are other tests to determine your child's aptitude that don't involve reading or writing. Sometimes these tests are given if there is a language problem that might interfere with getting a true picture of the child's ability.
The important things to remember are that 1) you will probably see a score from one of these tests on your child's report, and 2) that score should be within the range of 85 to 115, for the most part.
The information you get from these scores will also tell you what the child is having difficulty with. For example, perhaps he has difficulty remembering what he sees. Perhaps he can't remember more than 1 or 2 directions at a time. Perhaps he can't process new information as fast as other children. These are important clues to letting you and the teachers know what to work on with your child and how to best help him.
When you get this information, the next thing that will happen is that this "aptitude" score will be compared with the child's "achievement" score.
His achievement score is a measure of what he knows and what he has learned. These will be his scores in things like reading, written language, and math. In order for your child to show a learning disability, there has to be a large gap between his "aptitude" score (his ability to process information and learn) and what he has actually learned.
In other words, the report is showing that, although the child is able to learn as well as anyone else of his age or grade, something is causing this to not happen the way it should.
Why is that happening? When the pieces of the evaluation are put together, it should provide information about why your child is not learning the way the other children are. It will provide clues to you and his teachers about how to help him in the best way possible and how to help him help himself.
For more plain talk about learning disabilities, please visit us at www.ldperspectives.com.
About the Author
Sandy Gauvin is a retired educator who has seen learning disabilities from many perspectives - as the parent of a daughter with learning disabilities, as the teacher of children with learning disabilities, and as an advocate for others who have diagnosed and unrecognized learning disabilities. Sandy shares her wisdom and her resources at www.ldperspectives.com.
Here we will come to know who are the most... Read More
The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all... Read More
If You're Having Twins..is it double the headache, or double... Read More
Voices!So many voices crying out for adherence and so many... Read More
The teenage years are a crucial time in a child's... Read More
Every school year parents and students dutifully trudge through the... Read More
What makes parenting so challenging at times? One widespread research... Read More
I still remember the scene vividly. I was getting out... Read More
Criticism is punitiveOur children judge themselves on the opinions we... Read More
Fall marks the beginning of many new things both for... Read More
As parents, we want our children and teens to grow... Read More
Being a parent is a role that requires a large... Read More
Choosing a good car seat for your child's protection is... Read More
Most parents at some stage are driven to distraction by... Read More
Speaking as a Michael (a Hebrew name, meaning "Who is... Read More
"Home Schooling ? Look Before You Leap"Are you considering home... Read More
Winnie the Pooh is the classic picture of Inattentive ADHD.... Read More
Travel is a common theme in my life -- probably... Read More
Goal setting is essential for building a successful life. However,... Read More
It's no surprise that the self-image and self-esteem of overweight... Read More
I used to have a really challenging job. It was... Read More
We are all so very happy to see that the... Read More
We adopted our first child when he was three months... Read More
Life is funny.My twenty-year-old daughter, Melanie, has a her new... Read More
"Get down from the table top right now! What are... Read More
shuttle from Midway Morris ..Before my daughter was born my house was... Read More
Sitterphobe "I never have a second to myself," this mother... Read More
In a consumer-driven society that broadcasts values you don't approve... Read More
"Setting the alarm on Sunday mornings is inhuman?..God should know... Read More
When I was pregnant, we knew that we had some... Read More
If your child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder then at... Read More
Giving advice to a teenager is very easy; getting a... Read More
As I sit here and reflect on the past two... Read More
Children explore the world around them and learn through pretend... Read More
Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part... Read More
Most people with children want to be good parents. The... Read More
There has been much attention in the media of late... Read More
The Flow of WaterWater is essential for life on the... Read More
If you are currently homeschooling or considering homeschooling your child,... Read More
Just as every snowflake is unique, so is every child.... Read More
Choosing a baby name is an important job, so make... Read More
Elana, born in Russia, was told "We really don't know... Read More
When a parent is deployed with the military it can... Read More
Paula's last child had just gone off to college and... Read More
Here are some tips that I have picked up from... Read More
Libraries offer more than books. They are places of learning... Read More
Have you made your usual New Year resolutions? You know... Read More
It's the third time this week that Sam has complained... Read More
It was no contest. Given a choice between a ball... Read More
A common problem many times facing parents is Colic. Estimates... Read More
Parenting |