Diagnostic Center

Reasons for Testing

How do you know when to pursue a psychoeducational evaluation?

  • A child has exhibited an area of struggle or particular strength for a period of time (not just on one unit or assignment in school or with one particular teacher)
  • Academic progress is inconsistent across subjects and/or time
  • The child’s teacher has expressed concern regarding his/her progress
  • The individual has trouble sustaining attention and/or following instructions
  • Group standardized test scores are low in a particular area or across subjects
  • The individual frequently complains about some aspect of school
  • The individual seems confused by letters and numbers
  • Report card grades are poor (i.e., some D’s and F’s)
  • The individual struggles to retain information just presented, such as spelling words or math facts
  • Each day's lesson needs to be re-taught to complete homework
  • The child does not seem to be benefitting as would be expected from participation in regular classroom instruction
  • You’ve noticed a problem that has been adequately addressed in lower grades, but it has become more of an issue as the work/pace gets harder
  • Homework is a battle
  • There are persistent behavior problems at home or at school
  • The child is sad, withdrawn, anxious, lacks self-confidence, has poor self-esteem, etc.
  • The child has trouble “fitting in” socially in multiple settings
  • The child has trouble mastering basic academic foundational skills, such as reading or writing
  • The child becomes very anxious about and/or refuses to go to school
  • You’ve tried everything you can think of and are not sure what to try next
  • It has been three years since the individual’s last psychoeducational evaluation or less if there has been some significant change
These are just some of the many indicators that your child may be experiencing difficulties related to a learning difference.

A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation can help determine the nature and the extent of many learning- or socially-related difficulties your child may be experiencing. It can also guide and inform instructional and behavioral strategies used to ease the struggle that these differences may be causing, both at school and at home.

How do you know when to pursue a speech-language assessment?

In addition to identifying delays/impairments of speech production, a speech-language evaluation can determine the presence of speech production, auditory, verbal, and/or pragmatic (social communication) language weaknesses that impact a child’s life both in and out of the school setting. Specific recommendations for parents and educators for the development of a child’s speech and/or language skills are generated based on the results of the assessment. At the Diagnostic Center at Currey Ingram Academy, additional information is included in the diagnostic report when deviations of vocal quality or speech fluency are informally observed.

While not all-inclusive, a speech-language evaluation may be warranted if a child demonstrates any of the following:

  • Failure to produce speech sounds expected for his/her age
  • Speech that is difficult to understand
  • The use of immature and/or erroneous grammar and sentence structure
  • Difficulty retelling stories or events
  • Difficulty sequencing information
  • The use of immature vocabulary
  • Difficulty recalling known vocabulary words
  • Difficulty expressing ideas and opinions
  • Difficulty following spoken instructions
  • Difficulty recalling information from spoken stories
  • Increased academic difficulty with language-loaded subjects
  • Difficulty understanding spoken language in the absence of normal hearing acuity
  • Difficulty establishing and/or maintaining friendships

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Currey Ingram Academy is an exemplary JK-12 day and boarding school that empowers students with learning differences to achieve their fullest potential. Since 2002, the school has been located on an 83-acre campus in Brentwood, Tennessee, just miles from Nashville and Franklin. Families from 33 states and eight countries cite the school as their primary reason for moving to Middle Tennessee.

Currey Ingram Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and AdvancEd/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).