Literacy and Learning Disabilities

Assessment: Finding out if you have learning disabilities (LD)

If school, work, or other parts of life are harder than you expect, you may wonder if you have learning disabilities. How can you find out?

Talk to a teacher or someone else who understands LD. Tell the person about the things that have been hard-reading, spelling, math, or other things. You might use a checklist as you talk. Ask the person to do LD screening with you.

What is the purpose of LD Screening?
Screening will answer the question, "Should this person be referred for diagnosis of a learning disability?" Click here for more about Screening for LD.

How is Diagnostic Testing different from Screening?
Diagnostic Testing will answer the question, "Does this person have a learning disability?" If you decide to be tested, you will make an appointment with a psychologist trained in learning disabilities. That person will talk with you and ask you to do tasks to see if you have a learning disability.

Diagnostic Testing will answer the question, "Does this person have a learning disability?" Click here for more about Diagnostic Testing for LD

What does a Diagnostic Report tell you?
It will help you understand the nature of your learning disability and ways in which to use your strengths and accommodate the areas of disability.
Click here to learn about the Diagnositc Report.

What about telling others about the diagnosis? If you do have a learning disability, you decide whether or not you want to tell others. Your decisions about telling others (disclosure) and confidentiality will determine your ability to get legal accommodations that can help you succeed. Click here for more about disclosure and confidentiality. Click here for more about legal accommodations.

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