Learning Disorders

The assessment draws on previous reports (if available), clinical observations made during the sessions, and a battery of standardized tests administered in the office, both in written and digital formats. Together, these elements provide a detailed, nuanced, and objective understanding of the child’s cognitive and emotional functioning.

The first appointment is usually held with both parents present, without the child. It focuses on an in‑depth discussion of the child’s history, current difficulties, and the parents’ expectations.

This interview aims to:

• Determine whether a diagnostic evaluation is appropriate.

• Clarify the assessment protocol (tests selected based on the information gathered beforehand).

• Explain the full evaluation process (number of sessions, duration, report, and feedback session).

• Address any questions the parents may have.

• Establish a trusting environment, which is essential for minimizing the impact of anxiety on test performance.

It enables the clinician to:

• Establish a reliable differential diagnosis.

• Gain an in-depth understanding of the child’s mental functioning and its impact on daily life.

• Provide tailored recommendations and accommodations for daily life, both at home and at school.

• Recommend appropriate interventions such as cognitive remediation, neuropsychological rehabilitation, orthoptics, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or psychotherapy.

Learning domains assessed:

• Written Language: reading skills (including phonological and visual processing, word recognition, vocabulary, morphosyntactic understanding, and reading fluency) and writing/transcription skills (phonological and visual processing, as well as phonetic, lexical, linguistic, and morphological spelling).

• Number Sense and Math Skills: counting and quantity concepts, understanding of the numerical system (including analog, visual, and verbal codes, and transcoding), and arithmetic operations and calculations.

Cognitive domains assessed:

• Intellectual abilities: logical, conceptual, and quantitative reasoning.

• Social functions: social perception, social cognition, and social skills.

• Attentional functions: selective and sustained attention.

• Executive functions: cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory, planning.

• Memory functions: short- and long-term memory.

• Visuospatial functions: visuoperceptive and visuospatial abilities in 2D and 3D.

• Language functions: receptive and expressive language.

• Sensorimotor functions: lateralization, motor control and programming, sensorimotor coordination.

Adaptive domains assessed:

• Communication

• Daily living

• Socialization

Psycho-affective domains assessed:

• Emotional state: assessment of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms.

• Personality: assessment of personality organization, including pathological aspects, and identification of any underlying psychological vulnerabilities.

A child who struggles with learning does not necessarily have a learning disorder.

• A difficulty can often be overcome with targeted support, such as academic assistance or psychotherapy.

• A disorder on the other hand, requires a thorough psychological and neuropsychological evaluation to identify its underlying causes and guide an appropriate treatment plan.

Distinguishing between these two situations is essential to provide the most effective support.

Several indicators may signal that a child is having trouble learning. A child may be struggling if you observe slowness or significant effort when completing tasks such as:

• Reading

• Understanding spoken language or written material (texts or instructions)

• Expressing themselves orally or finding the right words

• Writing or drawing quickly and with sufficient detail

• Holding and manipulating small objects like scissors, rulers, pencils, or utensils

• Navigating space (school environment, layout of a worksheet)

• Understanding time (telling time, grasping concepts like “yesterday” or “tomorrow”)

• Coordinating their movements (not bumping into things, not dropping items, managing sports or playground activities)

• Staying focused on what they hear or see (maintaining attention, staying engaged, not skipping lines while reading)

• Planning the steps needed to complete a task or assignment

• Organizing written work, their backpack, or school materials

• Memorizing a poem, a lesson, or events

• Relying on their fingers to count

Children with learning difficulties often show:

• Increased fatigue

• Slower learning in certain areas

• Slow task execution

• Refusal to go to school, write, or draw

• Tension during homework, leading to parent–child conflict

• Lower self-confidence or heightened anxiety

A child may be at risk for a learning disorder when difficulties are persistent and long-lasting in specific skill areas. A learning disorder may be suspected if any of the following apply:

• Each year, teachers report ongoing difficulties with certain academic skills.

• The child struggles to learn regardless of the environment (school or home).

• School accommodations prove insufficient or ineffective.

• The child has already been evaluated by a specialist (for example, a speech-language pathologist), but interventions have not led to meaningful improvement.

These signs indicate the need for a deeper assessment to determine whether a learning disorder is present.