Any child suspected to have LD needs a comprehensive assessment, with the active cooperation of parents. a comprehensive assessment needs a multidisciplinary team comprising a clinical/educational psychologist, pediatricians/psychiatrist, special educator, social worker and speech therapist.

  Stages of diagnosis

• Adequate history (information) of the child's problems
• Detailed report from the teacher
• Examination and testing of the child
• Counseling of the child and parents about the problem and prognosis.
• Evolving an appropriate management plan

  Examination of the child includes:

   A physical/neurological examination and tests, if necessary, of hearing and vision.

  Psychologist's tests

   These are the basic types:

1. Tests to measure Intelligence (IQ)
2. Tests of academic achievements
3. Tests of other special abilities

   Specialists may need to examine the child to rule out disorders such as Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD), emotional disorders and speech disorders.

  Psychologist's assessment of Learning Disability

   A range of tests are administered to the child to find out the factors hindering progress at school.

  a. General intelligence test

   The most common IQ test for assessing intelligence is Wechler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), originally developed in the US and modified to suit Indian children. This test is suited for children with reading and spelling difficulties as it involves reading and writing.

   A normal child scores equally well or equally bad on all scales. On the other hand , the Dyslexic child does well in one set of tests and badly in another.

  b. Reading assessment

   To assess the reading age and reading disabilities of the child, there are a number of standardized tests like Schonell's reading test and Woodcock reading test. These tests are standardized for western children and are mostly unsuitable for Indian children.

   On the bother hand, an informal reading assessment can be done and more valuable, individualized information can be obtained.

   Specific reading disabilities are recorded by analyzing the reading performance. These disabilities are generally : reading word by word, omissions, reversals, insertions and guessing at words.

  C. Assessment of spelling

   The ability to spell is recognized as complex and multifaceted process. Besides general intelligence, the following factors affect the ability to spell words:

1. The ability to spell words that are phonetic
2. The ability to spell words that involve roots, prefixes, suffixes and rules for combining
3. The ability to look at the word and reproduce it later.

  d. Assessment of arithmetic skills

   Many disabled learners have difficulty learning mathematics , experiencing problems at all age levels. There are a number of (commercial) math's assessment kits; however, they yield little usable teaching information. On the other hand, informal assessment which consists of observation, oral interviews and error analysis can provide us with enough information regarding the nature of the child's disabilities.

   Other areas assessed include handwriting for pre academic skills. These include visual discrimination, auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, verbal fluency, memory, attention and handedness. Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills, Aston Index and Man - Suiter Test are some of the popular tests used to assess the readiness skills of a child.

   The assessment report predominantly brings out the level at which the child functions in each area of learning skills, and the nature of the disabilities that the child exhibits. Based on this report, an individualized remedial program is prepared for each child.