Assessment

Educational Specialist

An educational assessment is recommended when a parent:

Worries her child is behind in school and has nagging doubts even though she has been told by teachers, pediatricians, etc. that her child will "grow out of it."

Remembers his own learning difficulties (or that of relatives, older siblings) and recognizes similar traits and struggles in his own child.

Needs a private assessment or diagnosis of learning disability in order to get school services, (504) accommodations, or SAT accommodations.

Knows her child's difficulties who already has an IEP, but wishes to have the tools/language to communicate her child's learning needs to others involved.

Seeks to better understand his child's learning strengths and weaknesses regardless of school performance.

An educational assessment is a process...

...that seeks to discover why a student is not learning or producing in his or her instructional environment. A comprehensive educational assessment with Diana Vaniotis, Educational Specialist includes the following:

Diana begins with interviews of parents, the student, and teachers regarding the history and description of learning problems and successes.

Cognitive and achievement testing is scheduled over the course of three to four visits. Test sessions generally last 90 minutes depending on the age and attentional stamina of the client.

Additionally, standardized and criterion-based tests measure the following areas: oral language development, perceptual (visual and auditory) skills, memory (short-term, working and long-term), executive functions, fine and gross motor skills, social skills, ability levels, academic performance, emotional, attitudinal and motivational factors.

Diana highly values and incorporates observations of how the child performs during testing into her report. Whenever it is appropriate, usually for children still in elementary grades, Diana includes an observation of the child in his or her classroom setting.

Diana takes an account of school cum files, report cards and previous evaluations from other professionals. All the data is evaluated and interpreted holistically for the purpose of providing parents, teachers, other professionals, and students with the information necessary for planning individual instructional needs.

A final written report is delivered in conference with the parents where Diana: (a) demystifies the learning process, (b) recognizes and describes a student's strengths as an important component of their profile, (c) explains academic expectations in relation to learning and output, and (d) recommends appropriate compensations, accommodations, modifications and/or strategies that will help a child be more successful in school.

All interactions between Diana and your child are handled with sensitivity and understanding of their difficulties in school. Privacy is respected. Once testing has begun, children frequently report that they enjoy the sessions and demonstrate tremendous effort and cooperation.

Finally, many parents report that their children feel a sense of relief to have it affirmed in an official and respectful manner that they are not dumb or lazy, they do try very hard, and that there is hope of doing better in school with the right setting, instruction, and support.

A private assessment is distinguished from public school assessments, as the depth and breadth of the latter varies greatly between districts and is performed solely for the purpose of special education eligibility.

Diana invites you to contact her if you have any questions about the assessment process.