Learning Disability Assessment
Step 1 – Screening appointment
Initially, you will be invited to a 2 hour screening appointment, during which I will work with you to complete a range of questionnaires, and we will discuss your child’s strengths and interests, emotional health, physical health, family history, social circumstances, academic skills, and neurodevelopmental needs. Information will also be sought from your child’s school through a questionnaire.
After this session, I will invite you to a feedback appointment, where we will discuss the outcome of the screening. This will either lead to a full diagnostic assessment, or recommendations for further psychological assessment/therapeutic support.
If a full diagnostic assessment is not considered most appropriate at this stage, I will send you a report in the form of a letter which includes a working understanding of your child’s difficulties and further recommendations.
Step 2 – Detailed parental interview
This will involve a thorough discussion about your child’s development, which typically lasts for approximately 1.5–2 hours, and builds on the information gathered in Step 1. During this appointment, we will consider your child’s early developmental history, their educational experiences, and any behaviours of concern. You will also be asked questions about your child’s communication, daily living, and social skills. This stage will also involve considering together whether your child’s difficulties could be explained by, or co-occur with, other neurodevelopmental differences, mental health conditions, or psychosocial factors. Afterwards, reports from any other professionals will be reviewed, to incorporate their conclusions into the assessment.
Step 3 – Cognitive assessment
I will work with your child to complete a structured assessment of their thinking skills, using an assessment tool called the WISC-V. This involves them engaging in a number of puzzles and tasks, which lasts approximately 1.5 hours. This can help to understand their strengths and weaknesses in terms of working memory, language comprehension, processing speed, logical reasoning, and visual-spatial skills.
Step 4 – Feedback and report
Following all the assessments, I will integrate the information gathered into a detailed report, which will include a psychological formulation of your child’s strengths and needs, together with a diagnostic opinion regarding whether their difficulties meet the criteria for a diagnosis of intellectual disability (learning disability). We will arrange a feedback session, where I can explain the outcome of the assessment, alongside my recommendations, and you will have a chance to ask questions about your child’s support needs. This session lasts approximately 1 hour.
To arrange a brief 20 minute call to discuss your needs, please contact me by email in the first instance:
