SLD assessment
Understanding the difficulty
To explore persistent difficulties in reading, writing or mathematics and understand whether a Specific Learning Disorder may be present.
In person · Castenaso (Bologna)
Dott.ssa Chiara BentivogliPsychologistSLD & Learning
SLD & Learning
Understanding how someone learns
Difficulties at school do not, on their own, tell us how a child or young person learns.
When reading, writing, working with numbers, or studying becomes particularly demanding, it can be helpful to understand what is contributing to the difficulty, while also identifying areas of strength.
An assessment looks at cognitive functioning and academic skills, bringing test findings together with the child's developmental and educational history and the information gathered during the assessment process.
The aim is not simply to give a difficulty a name, but to build a fuller understanding of how a child or young person learns.
Difficulties and strengths
When learning becomes difficult
Learning does not look the same for everyone. Skills such as reading, writing, or working with numbers can remain particularly demanding despite effort, practice, and time spent studying.
Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) affect particular academic skills and can influence a child or young person's experience of school in different ways.
DyslexiaDysorthographyDysgraphiaDyscalculia
Looking closely
First, understanding the difficulty
Not every difficulty at school indicates a Specific Learning Disorder. The assessment therefore begins by gathering the child or young person's history and developing an initial understanding of the difficulties they are experiencing.
This first phase helps determine whether an SLD assessment is appropriate or whether what emerges suggests that a different kind of evaluation may be needed.
Two pathways
Two ways of supporting learning
Study and learning
Building strategies
To work on study methods, organisation, strategies and the use of helpful tools, with or without an SLD diagnosis.
Online and in personThe assessment
How the assessment works
An assessment is not simply a series of tests. Each stage contributes information that is gradually brought together to develop a fuller understanding of the child or young person's learning profile.
01The first meeting with parents
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The process begins with a meeting with the parents to understand the request and gather the child or young person's developmental and educational history. It is an opportunity to discuss the difficulties observed, when they first appeared, and how they are experienced at home and at school.
02Meeting the child or young person
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A dedicated meeting offers the opportunity to meet the child or young person directly and learn more about their history and school experience. It allows us to explore the reported difficulties from their perspective and complete the information gathered in the first phase.
03The cognitive profile
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Before assessing academic skills, cognitive functioning is explored using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V). This standardised instrument examines different aspects of the child or young person's cognitive profile and supports a more accurate interpretation of possible learning difficulties.
04Academic skills
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When the information gathered indicates that it is appropriate to proceed, the following sessions assess academic skills using standardised tools. Reading, writing and mathematics are explored with instruments selected according to age and the findings from the earlier stages.
05Bringing the information together
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At the end of the assessment, the results are considered together and connected with the information gathered throughout the process. Attention is given not only to areas of difficulty, but to the overall profile that emerged from the assessment, including strengths and individual ways of learning. A feedback meeting with the parents follows, during which the results are shared and explained.
06The clinical report
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At the end of the assessment, a clinical report brings together the findings and recommendations relevant to the school pathway. A further feedback meeting is dedicated to reading the report together and answering any questions.
A set of scores alone cannot tell the story
of a child or young person.
Repeated experiences of struggling, making mistakes, or comparing oneself with others can affect how school is experienced and how a young person comes to view their own abilities.
For this reason, I believe feedback should not stop at the difficulties identified. It should also recognize strengths and the individual ways in which a child or young person approaches learning.
Understanding a difficulty can be the starting point for finding different ways to approach it.
After a diagnosis
The regional validation process
When an assessment results in an SLD diagnosis, I also support families with the next steps required within the Italian school and healthcare system.
During the feedback meeting, I guide parents through uploading the necessary documentation to the regional portal for the SLD validation process in Emilia-Romagna and explain the steps involved. The documentation is then reviewed according to the procedure established by the Regional Health Service.
Clinical report→Regional portal→Validation process
Strategies
SLD, study and learning
A diagnosis is not required for studying to become difficult. Sometimes the challenge lies not in a single subject, but in how schoolwork is approached: getting organized, starting a task, managing time, identifying important information, or finding a study method that works for the individual student.
In my work as an SLD tutor, the starting point is to understand what is making studying difficult and to identify strategies that can make learning more manageable and effective.
The work may focus on study methods, organization, and trying different strategies, as well as learning how to use compensatory tools effectively, including concept maps and other study supports.
When an SLD is present, it can also be important for families to understand the accommodations available within the Italian school system and how the different tools and measures can support the student's learning.
The aim is not to offer the same method to everyone, but to help children and young people understand how they learn, identify the strategies that work for them, and gradually develop greater independence in their studies.
Working together
Family and school
Learning difficulties do not only affect study time. They can become part of everyday family life, the relationship with school, and the way a child or young person experiences their own abilities.
For this reason, it is important that parents have a clear understanding of the assessment findings and of how they can support their child's school experience.
After the assessment, I remain available to the family to answer questions, discuss the recommendations in the clinical report, and consider tools and strategies suited to the learning profile that emerged.
When the school prepares a Personalized Learning Plan (PDP — Piano Didattico Personalizzato), I can support the family in understanding the document and the accommodations and tools it includes, in light of the assessment findings.
SLD assessment
In person · Castenaso (Bologna)
Initial assessments up to age 16
SLD, study and learning
Online and in person
Who I work with
Children · Young people · Families
A first conversation
If you have questions about your child's difficulties at school or would like to understand what kind of support may be appropriate, you can contact me and briefly describe the situation.
I will get back to you personally to discuss your request and, where appropriate, arrange an initial meeting.
Discuss your request