Archives for March 2021

There are plenty of ADA accommodations that you can talk to your child’s school about to ensure that they’re getting the best possible education. These days, the ADA, or the Americans with Disabilities Act, protects children of all ages. Understanding your right under the law is the first step to ensuring that your child’s school is fully equipped to serve their needs.

It’s your right as a parent to record school meetings. Always ask in advance, and explain that you want to record these meetings to understand better what is happening with your child. This is especially true if you, yourself, have a disability like ADHD. Recording meetings will allow you to process them later, with a partner, if applicable.

If your child has a visual disability, you can request that school materials, including tests and other learning materials, be printed in a larger font. This includes pictures and any supplementary materials that apply to the class. Schools must accommodate all of their students, and you need to understand your rights in this regard.

Students with special needs or learning disabilities that cause them to lose concentration quickly can seat these children further away from windows, doors, or other distractions. You can request that your child be moved in the classroom if they are being distracted too easily by external stimuli.

If your child has a physical disability, such as if they are in a wheelchair, unique desks should be provided for them. They may also qualify for grace periods getting to and from class and be seated with the class instead of off to the side. This allows them to understand and experience all elements of learning thoroughly.

Whether your child seems to excel at math or has an impressive reading level, it’s not always easy to tell what their true educational potential is. However, with the right testing, you may be able to pinpoint what your kid could achieve, along with their strengths and their weaknesses.

At Comprehensive Consultation Psychological Services (CCPS), we specialize in psycho-educational tests that can help determine your child’s educational potential.

What Kind of Tests Help Assess a Child’s Educational Potential?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to determining your child’s educational potential. At CCPS, we strive to look at the big picture – which means conducting psychological tests that look at the mental processes affecting their educational performances. Our psycho-educational tests measure their academic abilities, intelligence, math achievement, reading, and writing skills.

Some of the tests we may use during this assessment include:

• Stanford Binet-5 Intelligence Scales (SB-5): The SB5 measures five areas of your child’s cognitive abilities: quantitative reasoning, fluid reasoning, knowledge, visual-spatial processing, and working memory. The SB5 can give a rounded look at your child’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses.
• Nelson Denny Reading Test: This reading test provides insight into reading and vocabulary comprehension.
• Woodcock Johnson Cognitive and Academic Batteries (WJ-III Ach and Cog): This battery of tests includes eighteen different assessments that provide further insight into a child’s cognitive abilities and academic potential.
• Test of Written Language (TOWL-4): This test assesses an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in their writing ability.

Everyone is unique, and when it comes to testing a child’s educational potential, their assessment needs to be unique too. From well-rounded tests like the WJ-III Ach and Cog to more narrow assessments like the TOWL-4, testing your child’s educational potential at CCPS can give you plenty of insight as to what they may achieve.