What Exactly is a Psycho Educational Assessment for Learning Difficulties?

If you are reading this article, there’s a high chance that you or someone you love is having difficulties with learning or everyday activities. In a nutshell, when children or adults struggle to learn things at a pace that would be expected for their age or grade level, they might need a psycho educational assessment. This is a thorough evaluation to determine why an individual is struggling and help select supports or interventions that assist the person in achieving to their full potential.

Within this broad stroke, however, there is a wide range of procedures and testing that may be administered. Typically, they are selected based on the areas of concern and suspected learning challenges. In addition, a psycho educational assessment can identify strengths, including intellectual giftedness. While they can be administered to adults, a psycho educational assessment is more likely to be given in childhood. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the why and how of this evaluation.

Why might someone have a psycho educational assessment?

There are several situations when people might want or need a psycho educational assessment. For most people that have learning differences, the symptoms are manifested relatively early in childhood. On the other hand, there are also people that manage to get far along in their education before problems get serious enough to be noticed. This is true whether the challenge is related to intelligence, a neurodevelopmental problem like learning difficulties/disabilities, or ADHD.

Perhaps the most common reason why children in particular are sent for a psycho educational assessment is that their school suspects that they need specialized education. In the United States, this means that they might need an “Individualized Education Plan” or IEP. Other countries have different terms: the United Kingdom calls it a Special Educational Needs (SEN) plan, for example. On the other end of the spectrum, these assessments are sometimes given to qualify someone for gifted and talented programs.

While there’s no “wrong” time to get one, the sooner that the reasons behind someone’s struggles are identified, the easier it is to help them. In addition, repeated assessments might be needed in certain circumstances. The same goes for situations where enrichment is needed for a child to thrive. Here are some common reasons for an assessment, in greater detail.

A learning difference or disability is suspected

What is a learning difference, anyway? Simply put, a learning difference (disability in the United States and Canada) is a neurological anomaly that makes it more difficult for someone to learn in a particular area. This deficit is measured in comparison with their overall capacity for achievement. If there is a large enough difference between what they should be able to do, and what they are actually able to do, then a learning difference is often diagnosed. Another term for this is “specific learning disorder” or SLD.

While most people with learning differences are diagnosed as children, there are some situations where the evaluation isn’t done. For instance, some parents might not want their child to be given an “evaluation.” In other situations, an individual might be so intelligent, or clever in other ways, that they manage to cope until adulthood. Here, the psycho educational assessment is usually done to explain other difficulties in their lives. For instance, they might struggle in social settings, or with getting work done efficiently.

Your child’s school thinks your child might have attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD).

Similarly, a psycho educational assessment is often performed when ADHD is suspected. As with learning disorders, ADHD is a condition that makes it harder, all other things being equal, for people to learn or achieve to their potential. The difference, though, is that the dysfunction centers around the ability to focus and absorb information. It can also make someone hyperactive, or a combination of these.

Here’s where it can get more difficult, though. A lot of people who have a learning disorder also have ADHD. In some situations, it is hard to tell the difference between the two. Look at it this way: if you’re having a lot of trouble in math class, it’s easy for attention to drift off. As people, we tend to avoid the most difficult parts of our lives. And as a result, many children with learning disorders will quit paying attention in a class that they find too hard. Alternatively, their difficulty understanding the topic might make it LOOK like they’re not paying attention.

Since ADHD and LD often occur together, one of the biggest tasks in a psycho educational assessment where there are concerns about attention is to distinguish between the two. Both can cause someone to “act out” in certain settings, and both can hamper achievement. Knowing exactly where someone is struggling makes it much easier to help them.

Educators believe that someone has a lower level of intelligence

Of course, not all failures to learn are caused by learning disorders or ADHD. As mentioned above, achievement expectations for both of these difficulties are indexed in part based on someone’s aptitude. Most of us hear this aptitude described as “intelligence” or “intelligence quotient (IQ).” Combined with other factors such as economics and education, someone’s IQ is often referred to as their “potential.”

Having a low IQ has many different terms, many of which (such as “idiot”) are demeaning. However, there’s one which needs to be mentioned. In the United Kingdom, having low intelligence is referred to as having a “learning disability.” For Americans, the most common term is “intellectual disability.” This is important, because a learning disorder is called “learning disability” in the US, and it leads to confusion across cultures.

No matter what you call reduced intelligence, the result is a lower ability to learn, adapt, and develop life skills. These deficits exist even when outside factors, such as the quality and level of education, are considered.

There are concerns that a child or adult might have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Next, let’s talk about autism. This is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes poor social skills, communications difficulties, and repetitive behaviors. Symptoms vary widely and range from mild to severe. Intelligence levels can also range from gifted to severely intellectually disabled, although most people correlate autism and low intelligence. A psycho educational assessment can help to both diagnose autism and distinguish it from other learning challenges.

Why is this necessary? Simply put, ASD, learning disorders, low intelligence and ADHD have overlapping symptoms. Comprehensive reviews of a patient’s social and academic history, along with the testing typically administered, helps to determine the correct cause of someone’s difficulties. In turn, the interventions selected to help someone depend in part on their actual diagnosis.

A child or adult shows signs of giftedness, which in turn can be nurtured.

Of course, it isn’t necessarily bad news if your child’s school wants to administer a psycho educational assessment. In fact, many districts have special programs for students that are especially intelligent or have a high level of ability in one or more areas. These students are called “gifted and talented,” or “more able” in the UK. A teacher who thinks that your child has distinguishing characteristics like this might refer them for an assessment, which in turn becomes the gateway for extra enrichment.

Schools do this for more than just potential enrichment purposes. For instance, a lot of gifted children will act up in class out of boredom. Or, they’ll get in trouble for staring out the window during an important lecture. These behaviors can be the result of another condition, like ADHD or SLD, or they can have a combination of causes. In other words, the causes of behavior problems can be positive traits, and not just negative ones.

What is the purpose of a psycho educational assessment?

When someone undergoes a psycho educational assessment, the overarching goal is to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Then, this data is used to diagnose any disabilities or difficulties that may be causing their symptoms. In some situations, more detailed testing will be needed. This is especially true if the evaluation reveals there might be other explanations for these challenges, such as cerebral palsy. However, these evaluations are beyond the scope of the discussion.

Again, it’s important to remember that gifted and talented students also need to have their strengths assessed. This allows schools and parents alike to encourage the child in that area. Furthermore, for children and adults alike, there’s the possibility of joining social groups for the gifted. The most famous one is Mensa, which requires an assessment to join.

What does a psycho educational assessment include?

Because everyone is unique, there isn’t a predetermined set of diagnostic tools that’s always used. Rather, there are standardized instruments that can measure any set of strengths and weaknesses that is relevant to evaluators. In addition, most instruments come in different languages or are tailored for a particular set of regional requirements. With that said, there are common elements to all thorough psycho educational evaluations. Let’s take a look at what some of these are, and what they are intended to measure.

Review of client’s medical, social, and educational history

The first thing which most evaluators do is get a social and educational history on the person being evaluated. This means that they consult as many sources as possible to find out how well someone functions in their everyday lives, as well as at school. For some diagnoses, experiencing symptoms in more than one context is required. In addition, this information can help sort through the cause of some challenges. Professionals conducting a psycho educational evaluation will often ask for the following sources:

Medical information

Because some learning challenges are linked to different medical events, a good evaluator will want to know as much as family and friends are allowed to tell them. Permission is sought from the patient or parent/guardian for compliance purposes. In particular, evaluators like to know if someone was born prematurely, if the mother used substances, and if there were complications during birth. All of these point to certain possibilities over others.

Social history

In addition, someone’s social history often reveals important information. For instance, an ASD diagnosis requires social challenges, such as being socially withdrawn. ADHD, too, has social implications that result from hyperactivity or lack of attention. On the other hand, the recent occurrence of major life events might point to something more easily treatable, such as depression.

Academic history

This is one of the richest sources of information, and it’s almost always available for school aged children. Your child’s evaluator will look at his or her grades, achievement test results, and teacher notes. In addition, many jurisdictions require that certain interventions be tried before a complete evaluation has been done. When this is the case, thorough records on what was done previously will be available.

Psychometric testing

After reviewing the history of someone undergoing a psycho educational evaluation, the evaluators will select some psychometric tests. These take several hours to complete and are designed to quantify the strengths and weaknesses of the person being evaluated. Here are some things that testing can determine, depending on the person’s needs.

Intelligence test

Because learning disorders in particular are diagnosed in part based on someone’s achievement in contrast to their potential, intelligence testing will almost always be done in these cases. The same goes with ADHD and certain other diagnoses. In addition, intelligence test results can help educators determine how to help someone.

Intelligence tests are typically quite time consuming. One reason for this is that they measure a lot of different things. Most of us think of intelligence in terms of ability to reason in language and mathematics. However, there are other layers of intelligence, such as spatial reasoning. Depending on the suspected cause of someone’s learning challenges, different modules will be administered.

Achievement tests

These are simply assessments that show how much someone knows about a particular subject. If the educational records are thin, or an adult is being evaluated, these give a thorough picture of how well someone can do a particular academic task. Modules include subjects like reading comprehension, mastery of math facts, and reasoning skills.

Attention and impulsivity assessments

Especially if a diagnosis of ADHD is suspected, many evaluators will administer tools to determine how well someone can concentrate. In addition, there will be measures of impulsivity. These help quantify certain criteria needed for a diagnosis of ADHD. Plus, they’ll help sort out if someone has that condition, learning disorders, or something else. Of course, a combination is also possible.

Other tools

Finally, there are other tools that a psychometrist can use as part of a psycho educational evaluation. For instance, there are tests for manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, mastery of nonverbal cues, processing speed, reading fluency, and more. Each of these helps put together the puzzle of someone’s strengths and weaknesses, while also checking boxes for a potential diagnosis.

Analysis and summary of findings

Lastly, a psycho educational assessment will typically generate a report on findings. This will tell the client what tests have shown. For instance, the report might say that someone has a learning disorder or ADHD. In addition, test scores are often given which can be used by educators and other professionals to plan accommodations and interventions.

On the other hand, if your gifted child is given a psycho educational assessment, then the results will help obtain enrichment for your child. In some cases, it can be an extracurricular activity. On the other hand, you might get a recommendation that a child get honors classes in a particular subject. And, if the gifted child also has SLD or another challenge, these will be addressed at the same time.

Having your child’s school or an adult’s doctor suggest a psycho educational assessment can be upsetting. After all, in many cases this recommendation comes as a result of some challenges the person is facing. It can be behavior problems, a suspected learning disorder, giftedness, or even a combination of these. Fortunately, the results of this assessment will show teachers, parents, and practitioners a lot about the client. In turn, it paves the way for the right supports so your loved one can thrive.

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