Online Test For Learning Disabilities?

Question

My son will be going into highschool soon and I have homeschooled him and his brother since they were 5. We basicly unschooled, just learning what they need to know from the library. We have never tested. In the 8th grade as i started to prepare him for the structured format of "online" high school I noticed that he was having some bad learning problems that i had asumed were normal until now. His problems are mainly in Language,Science and History. He is average in math.

We will not be medicating him so i feel no need to take him for professional testing.

What are some online tests that i can give him to see the extent of his problems? I am leaning towards a Non verbal learning disability.

Thank You

Answer 1

You maybe able to order a testing kit somewhere-to come in the regular mail--i haven't heard of anything definitive online-sometimes you can get a screener that says you may or may not have LD.

It is best to having training in administering the test-but you can probably teach yourself-even the professionals had to learn sometime.....

You can consider asking your district to accommodate your child's disability by coming to the home to administer the test--or you can pay a private company to come to your home

Answer 2

I have never heard such a thing how can an on line test be of any use for a child with a non verbal learning disability, my son Thomas is ten now he is also non verbal and has severe autism....its not on line tests your son requires its a face to face evaluation with a qualified doctor who specializes in the subject...you can read to much into these on line tests and freak yourself out more than you need too

Answer 3

There aren't any online tests for learning disabilities.  You may find lists of indicators of learning disabilities, but to diagnose a learning disability you must administer an IQ test and achievement tests.  These are not available online or to the general public, as it would compromise their validity.

Answer 4

Obviously you are very sensitive to this subject. but I would council that you actually LISTEN to what Elizabeth S is saying. She IS telling you straight and, yet you take um bridge with her. You  can not help your children if you don't heed the advice of people who are in the business. There is no EASY way to do this, call the professionals and get the matter taken CARE of. please, for your son's sake.

Answer 5

You can't medicate for a nonverbal learning disability.  You need to have him tested so that you and he can identify the problem accurately and develop coping strategies.  Without these strategies, he will not do well in college courses.  

I'm all for homeschooling and hope to homeschool my own children, should I have any.  However, I think your lack of following a curriculum guidelines, shying away from standardized testing to check on his performance and ignoring warning signs to a learning disability is not the most responsible thing to do.   Testing does help to let you know where the gaps are.  Following a sequential curriculum and taking breaks from that when needed or desired does help guard against from gaps in learning.  Gaps in learning can be a component in learning difficulty.  Since each subject you listed requires a great deal of sequential learning, I would first want to examine his overall success in the subject areas.  

Nonverbal learning disability is extremely hard to guess on and the descriptors available on line do not even come close to what a professional can predict in a ten minute conversation.  

I encourage you to continue homeschool, just reexamine your methods and thought regarding formal evaluations.

Edit- Unschooling a good choice for keeping kids motivated to learn and develop as students.  However, as he moves closer to college AND the fact he has a suspected learning difficulty, I think it's best to include your other options and integrate them into what you already have going on.  It's just important to have a balance of the two.  Nothing worthwhile will be online.  If he has a health issue, we wouldn't proceed with testing anyway.  If you want to test through your local school system, it takes a little bit to set things up.  The length of time depends on your school system, since you are homeschooling.  Good luck with you son and hope he is better soon.

Answer 6

If you are in the US, your local public school will test for free. Just call the school or the central office of the public school system, tell them your situation (homeschooling) and that your child has encountered academic problems. Then submit a request in writing for comprehensive academic testing. Be sure to sign and date it. They will make arrangements for him to come in for the tests by the school psychologist. However with the reauthorized IDEA, there must be interventions and it will be up to you as the teacher to perform these.

There are no online tests to determine learning disabilities which are usually manifested in basic reading, reading comprehension, math reasoning, math calculations, or writing. To determine a learning disability you must compare the results from ability and achievement testing (standard scores). It takes an outside professional because if you are too close to the situation, you will get unreliable results.

We had a home-schooled severe profound student who showed up at our school at age 16. When his mother brought his test scores, they showed he could read on a sixth grade level and perform some pre-algebra. He could not even talk, or potty, or even express wants or needs by pointing.

Medication is not given for learning problems, only medical problems which requires a medical doctor, who does not test for learning problems.