When Schools Resist Evaluating & Addressing Learning Disabilities

We see so many memes and TikToks from adults who complain about the difficulty of receiving a diagnosis. In American schools, students can receive psycho-educational assessments for a variety reasons. At the end of that process, they can receive an IEP and access to supports. But, all too often, schools focus on just one thing. You can be autistic and have a specific learning disability. But, you get a single eligibility for SPED services. Thus, the system often chooses the eligibility that it can support the easiest and cheapest, not necessarily the one that needs the most help. The repercussions of a missed diagnosis can last a lifetime. So why do some schools fail to identify learning differences in special education students, causing them to fall behind?

By way of example, almost two-thirds of children with ADHD have at least one other condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 45 percent are affected by learning disorders, 32 percent by anxiety, 17 percent by a mood disorder, and 14 percent are autistic. Yet despite the prevalence of co-occurring conditions, experts in the field — advocates, learning specialists, and psychologists — report that many students with ADHD do not receive assessments for common co-morbidities, at least initially.

Under a mandate covered in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the USA called Child Find, public schools are required to “identify and evaluate all students who are reasonably suspected of having a disability.” This includes vision and hearing, social and emotional status, academic performance, and everything in between. In many cases, however, schools are not pursuing additional testing for kids with autism and ADHD, despite requests from parents. The reasons for this include:

• Symptoms of co-occurring conditions are often mistakenly conflated with behavioral issues

• School budget constraints limit testing and support services that might be required

“When I see kids who are diagnosed with learning disabilities in sixth or seventh grade, they’ve had years of a script in their head that they’re stupid and not good enough,” says Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and a clinical instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. “Kids deal with that differently: Some get anxious, some get depressed, and some become the class clown.”

It’s important to be an advocate. Take additional steps if your child…

• Continues to feel frustrated even though their primary eligibility for SPED services is being addressed

• Avoids specific subjects at school

• Refuses to go to school

• Seems angry much of the time

• Talks negatively about themself

If you suspect a learning difference. . .

• Request an evaluation from the school in writing. Try a simple email stating, “I suspect my child has a disability and I am requesting an evaluation”. Under the IDEA, schools must investigate and evaluate all areas of suspected disability.

• If the school refuses to evaluate: You have two choices:

  • Seek a due process hearing to request that the school evaluate your child

  • Get your child evaluated privately if you can afford it or if you can find low or no-cost options. The school district is obligated to consider those findings, but it unfortunately is not bound by them.