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I Think My Child May Have a Learning Disability: Where can I locate help?

According to the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, approximately 3.2% of Canadian children have a learning disability, which is equivalent to one child in every school bus full of children.

According to the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, approximately 3.2% of Canadian children have a learning disability, which is equivalent to one child in every school bus full of children. There are many different types of learning disabilities (LD). In varying ways, each of these LDs affects the brain's ability to retain, process, retrieve or relay information. Children with LDs typically have difficulty with everyday communication and learning techniques: listening, speaking, reading, writing and math. However, children with LDs are often of average or above average intelligence.

While LDs are sometimes overlooked, there are ways of detecting them and employing different learning strategies and resources to process information more effectively. Understanding how to have your child assessed and perhaps more importantly finding a qualified professional to perform the assessment for an LD, can be very helpful in overcoming the barriers that an LD may present.

How are LDs diagnosed?
How do I locate the professionals I may need?
Are these services covered?
Need more information?

How are LDs diagnosed?

• The first step is to contact your family doctor and/or pediatrician and set up an appointment for an evaluation. If these doctors suspect that your child may have a learning disability, they may then refer you to a specialist trained to assess and diagnose learning disabilities such as a psychiatrist or psychologist. In most provinces you may also self-refer to a psychologist, but make sure that this type of professional has specific provincial licensing requirements to do so.
• You may also approach your child’s teacher or principal for assistance in having an assessment conducted. These individuals can often contact provincial district school boards who have psychologists on staff that may perform assessments.
• Next, a psychiatrist or psychologist will perform an assessment (requires Adobe Reader) to determine whether or not your child has a learning disability based on several specific criteria. Your psychiatrist or psychologist may also call upon several other professionals and yourself to complete their assessment.
• Treatment will depend on which learning disability is identified. You may ask the professional that diagnoses your child what the next steps should be. Read this resource for more information on making sense of treatment options and informed decision-making.

How do I locate the professionals I may need?

• You can search for a family doctor, pediatrician or psychiatrist on this website, and/or through your provincial or territorial College of Physicians and Surgeons website.
• You can also look for a psychologist by contacting the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA).
• You can go through your child’s school to locate a school psychologist, or you may contact one using these resources (each of the following provinces has a school psychology association website, however you can also use the CPA website to look for psychologists that serve school boards):
  • BCASP: British Columbia Association of School Psychologists
  • MASP: Manitoba Association of School Psychologists
  • AQPS: l'Association Québécoise des Psychologues Scolaires (available in French only)
  • ACPOSB: Association of Chief Psychologists with Ontario School Boards
• If you want to know more about the other key types of professionals that may be consulted, you should speak with the diagnosing health care professional. However, you can also learn more about the following professions though online resources:
  • Speech language pathologists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Counsellors

Are these services covered?

Generally, the services provided by a medical doctor (e.g. psychiatrist) are covered by provincial health plans. However, services provided by psychologists in private practice are often not covered. Contact your insurer (and/or your spouse’s) to find out if your plan covers a certain number of psychological service hours annually. Also, ask if the coverage extends to dependants and which particular services are covered. You may also ask about private plan coverage for occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and counsellors.

Interestingly, school psychologist services accessed through a school board may sometimes be covered. Contact your child’s teacher, principal, school board and/or provincial ministry of education to learn more.

Need more information?

Read more about parenting and learning disabilities.

Contact the learning disabilities association near you.

Browse through websites and organizations provided by the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario.

Key Websites:

• Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
• Learning Disabilities Resource Community 

Related Articles:

• Autism Support: Finding resources and services
• Specialists: Getting referred and getting seen fast
• 8 Helpful Hints for Finding a Doctor Faster

References