Learning Disability Assessment Toronto

Dr. O'Connor, a Toronto psychologist, offers Psychological Assessment and Testing  services to children, adolescents and  young adults. Her clients include parents and families in Toronto and the surrounding area. She also offers in office learning disability assessments at her Barrie office to clients in Simcoe County and York Region. Dr. O'Connor's Psychological Assessment and Testing Services reflect her post doctoral training in School Neuropsychology, and integrate a brain/behavior focus to assess the young person's functioning, both strengths and weaknesses, across a range of neurocognitive domains.

Dr. O’Connor's Psychological  Assessments increase understanding of the psychological concerns that surface in young people. They also reveal what is contributing to and maintaining these concerns, and lead to evidence based interventions to help. A Learning Disability Assessment is recommended when a young person who appears bright and able to learn, at least in some areas, nonetheless struggles to learn and shows academic difficulties.

Dr. O'Connor provides in depth, comprehensive psychological assessments  and school neuropsychologccal assessments, to children, adolescents and young adults. Her assessment services do not include psychoeducational assessments. She believes more in depth psychological and/or school neuropsychological assessments are required to get to the root of the psychological and learning issues that plague the young people she works with. 

However, the full components of a psychoeducational assessment are included within the comprehensive psychological and/or school neuropsychological assessments she provides. 

What Is a Learning Disability?

To meet the diagnosis for a Specific Learning Disability the young person must show indication of average intellectual functioning on a psycho-educational or psychological assessment. A statistical formula which integrates the young person's average to above average intellectual functioning levels, with the neuropsychological and academic deficits and/or weaknesses he/she shows determines whether the young person meets the criteria for a Specific Learning Disability.  

Learning Disability Types

Learning Disabilities are associated with genetic and/or neurological factors that affect brain functioning, and can result in various weaknesses involving one or more of the neurocognitive processes associated with learning. These might include language difficulties, such as problems processing and comprehending language, or with verbal expression. Such children may also have been slow to acquire basic language skills.  

Other learning disabled children may show nonverbal learning difficulties on the learning disability assessment. These might include visual processing or discrimination weaknesses, or problems with visual spatial organization, or visual-motor tasks. They may have difficulty processing information in a timely and efficient manner. Executive function weaknesses, problems with memory, attention and focus may also be at issue. These neuropsychological processing concerns interfere with the acquisition of  basic academic skills in reading, writing and/or math.

Their academic skill levels are likely to fall below the norm and below expected levels based on their average to above average  intellectual functioning levels.

A Learning Disability Assessment Can Help

Dr. O'Connor offers Psychological Assessments and School Neuropsychological Evaluations to help explore the young person's learning problems and to determine whether he or she meets the criteria for a Specific Learning Disability. Young people who have been diagnosed with a Specific Learning Disability by a registered psychologist, or other qualified psychological professional, and identified as an Exceptional Student are entitled to an Individual  Educational Plan (IEP). This plan will provide the young person with appropriate supports and accommodations to assist him or her with the school program.  

Dr. O'Connor's Psychological Assessments and School Neuropsychological Evaluations explore the various domains that are necessary to help determine whether the young person meets the criteria for a Specific Learning  Disability. This includes measures of cognitive functions to help determine the young person's levels of intellectual functioning. Testing is provided to determine the young person's levels of academic functioning across various measures of math, reading and written language. The goal is to determine what are the expected levels of academic functioning we would expect  based on the young person's levels of intellectual functioning.

If there are inconsistencies, and higher levels of academic functioning are expected, Dr. O'Connor will explore the test results further. Her goal is to review the test results to help determine why the young person is showing below expected levels of academic functioning, based on his or her average to above average levels of intellectual functioning. Dr. O Connor will develop a hypothesis as to why this is occurring. She will then administer further neuropsychological processing measures to either confirm or disconfirm this hypothesis.

This information will be integrated into a full and comprehensive psychological report. This report includes summaries of all test findings, including strengths and weaknesses, a diagnosis or diagnoses when appropriate, and interventions to address the learning and nueropsychological processing concerns that surfaced or were confirmed during the assessment.

Learn more about Dr. O'Connor's psychological assessments and school neuropsychological evaluations and how they can assist in determimg whether the young person you have concerns about meets the criteria a Specific Learning Disability.