The purpose of this article is to summarize the areas that should be included in a comprehensive assessment for children with suspected learning disabilities. A history is essential for any diagnosis. It should include information about the family background, early development, health, language, literacy, and educational experiences. Early developmental milestones provides information about rate of learning and the age at which parents or teachers first expressed concerns about possible problems. Early schooling and day care experiences should be discussed, since the programs in nursery schools and kindergartens vary.
Some programs emphasize social skills whereas others focus on cognition and early academics.
Whenever a child is suspected of having learning problems, hearing and vision should be evaluated. Even mild hearing impairments can interfere with language acquisition. Although experts do not always agree on the importance of mental ability testing, some measures of cognitive functions or aptitude should be given to determine how the child is performing in the areas of perception, memory, language, thinking skills, and problem solving. Children who are delayed in all aspects of development typically require different types of programs from those who have uneven profiles or scatter. Many pioneers in the field noted that children with learning disabilities were not slow in all aspects of development.