Something Is Wrong But I Don’t Know What

Laura sits across the desk from me explaining that her seven year old son is struggling to learn to read despite being read to every night before bed, despite her working with at home, despite going to preschool since age three, and despite having a decent kindergarten teacher.  She knows something is wrong because learning to read should not be this hard. Furthermore, she has a five year old who is learning to read much easier than his older brother.

When she shared her concerns with the first grade teacher, the teacher did not believe it was critical to have testing but she did not think it would hurt either.  See, this boy was not the lowest reader in his class. Although she had concerns, the teacher thought it would all work out because, in her experience, boys can learn to read slower than girls.

Thankfully Laura trusted her motherly instincts and decided to have her son tested.  The school neuropsychological battery of tests showed this boy had a cognitive processing problem that interferes with his ability to learn to read.  Testing showed it was not the boy’s fault or Laura’s fault.  It was a wiring issue within the boy that showed this boy needed to be taught how to read differently than traditional instruction. The right instruction could fix this problem.  The testing provided relief for Laura because she knew something was wrong but did not know what. She went from feeling helpless to hopeful.

Laura’s son now works with a highly specialized reading tutor.  Laura reinforces what he learns in tutoring at home. Testing her son provided answers, confirmation, and direction for the future.  In Laura’s case, she did not waste a year of first grade instruction hoping her son matured.  This was not a maturity issue so he would still have the problems at the end of the year if she took a wait and see approach.

Testing can help you too. Call or email to discuss the concerns you have with your child’s learning. Through our unique battery of tests we can figure it out for you too.