Some children work twice as hard as their classmates and still fall behind, or seem bright everywhere except at homework. Many parents notice this before anyone can explain it. An evaluation can help clarify what’s making learning so difficult.
Some children understand everything you explain to them out loud, and still struggle to get it down on paper. Homework that should take twenty minutes stretches into two hours. Report cards say bright and capable, but grades don’t always show it. Over time, some kids start saying they’re not smart, or that they hate school, even when everyone around them knows better.
Everyone tends to have a theory. A teacher says lazy, a relative says distracted, another parent suggests tutoring. Learning disability testing for children in Bellevue, WA looks past those guesses, at how your child’s brain processes reading, writing, and math, so the explanation is based on evidence instead of opinion.
Everyone seems to have an explanation. No one has tested one yet.
A comprehensive evaluation looks at reading, writing, math, attention, and emotional patterns together, so your child can move from believing they’re not smart to understanding that their brain simply learns differently.
This learning disability evaluation tends to fit families like these, and you can see the full range of who I help as well:
Book a phone consult to talk through what’s been happening.
A learning disability evaluation starts with a conversation, not a worksheet. It follows the same careful approach as the neuropsychology assessments I provide for other concerns. Before anything else, I want to understand what you’ve already noticed about how your child learns.
Here’s what the evaluation involves:
I’m Dr. Allisen Landry, a pediatric neuropsychologist based in the Wilburton neighborhood of Bellevue, near Viewpoint Park. I’ve been evaluating children, teens, and young adults since 2020, with a particular interest in how kids learn differently. A learning disability rarely shows up in just one subject, and it often overlaps with attention or emotional difficulties that deserve just as much attention. I write reports that are meant to be used, not filed away, so families and schools have something practical to work from, not just a label.
Every evaluation follows the same general path, whether the starting concern is reading, writing, math, or all three at once. You can read more about how I help beyond a single evaluation.
You notice your child working harder than everyone else for the same results.
A comprehensive evaluation looks at what’s making learning so difficult.
You get an explanation that accounts for what you’ve been seeing at home and at school.
You leave with recommendations that are specific to how your child learns, not a generic checklist.
Finding strengths alongside challenges.
Before looking at how I evaluate for it, it helps to understand what a learning disability is and how it can show up differently from one child to th
A learning disability isn’t about effort or intelligence. It describes a specific way a child’s brain processes certain kinds of information, like reading, writing, or math, differently than expected for their age and ability. The disorder shows up as a real gap between how capable a child seems in conversation and how much harder certain academic tasks are for them. Recognizing that gap is often the first challenge parents run into, since teachers and report cards don’t always capture it.
Learning disabilities aren’t one single thing. Dyslexia affects reading and can show up as trouble decoding words, slower reading fluency, or difficulty with reading comprehension even when a child understands the material out loud. Dysgraphia affects writing and spelling, making it hard to get thoughts onto paper even when a child can explain them clearly. Dyscalculia affects math, showing up as difficulty with number sense or multi-step problems that seem to take much longer than they should. Some children have a single learning disability, and others have differences across more than one area.
A comprehensive assessment looks at more than reading, writing, and math alone. Some children who struggle academically are also dealing with attention difficulties, and an
can help clarify whether that’s part of what’s happening, since learning disabilities and ADHD commonly overlap. Others show patterns that benefit from an
as part of a fuller evaluation. Looking at cognitive, academic, and emotional functioning together is what turns a list of struggles into an explanation a family and a school can use.
Two children with the same type of learning disability can look completely different day to day. One child might grow quiet and avoid homework entirely, while another gets frustrated and pushes back on every assignment. Some kids start to internalize the struggle, saying they’re not smart or that they hate school, when what’s really happening is that a specific skill hasn’t clicked yet. Understanding how a child learns new concepts and performs academic tasks, not just whether they’re struggling, is what makes the explanation feel complete instead of partial.
Understanding before accommodations.
Every evaluation is built the same way, whether the starting concern is reading, writing, math, or all three at once.
Learning difficulties rarely exist in just one subject, so I look at how a child is thinking, learning, and processing information alongside their actual academic skills.
What this looks like during the evaluation:
Alongside academic testing, I use standardized measures and direct conversation to understand how the learning struggle has affected your child emotionally, not just academically.
What this looks like during the evaluation:
Your observations and your child’s academic history are part of the data, not just background information.
What this looks like during the evaluation:
The evaluation isn’t finished until you understand it, and until your child’s school has something useful to work from.
What this looks like during the evaluation:
Your first appointment is the intake, and it happens online. I’ll ask what you’ve noticed about how your child learns, and let you lead the conversation from there.
The evaluation itself is always in person, at my office in Bellevue. It’s a full day, with breaks, snacks, and a chance to earn a small prize for younger kids. My office has big windows and plenty of color, on purpose, so it doesn’t feel like a classroom. Most of the day involves academic tasks, some conversation, and some activities on an iPad or computer.
About three weeks later, we meet again online for the feedback appointment. I send a draft of the report the day before, so you have time to read it and write down questions. We go through the findings and recommendations together, including what might support an IEP or 504 request at school.
A learning disability is a specific difference in how a child’s brain processes information, not a reflection of effort or intelligence. Struggling in a subject can happen for lots of reasons, but a learning disability tends to show up as a consistent, unexpected gap between how capable a child seems and how they perform in a specific academic area.
The most common types include dyslexia, which affects reading, dysgraphia, which affects writing and spelling, and dyscalculia, which affects math. Some children have a single learning disability, while others have differences across more than one area, and many also deal with attention difficulties alongside it.
Common early signs include reading well below grade level, avoiding reading or writing tasks, taking far longer than peers to finish homework, difficulty with spelling or math facts that seem to require constant repetition, and frustration or low confidence around schoolwork. No single sign confirms a learning disability on its own.
Teachers see a child alongside dozens of same-age peers, which can make gaps in reading, writing, or math easier to spot. A teacher might notice a child avoiding certain tasks, needing much more time or support than classmates, or performing inconsistently across similar assignments, and raise the concern before it’s obvious at home.
No, ADHD is a separate diagnosis from a learning disability, though the two commonly occur together. ADHD affects attention and executive functioning, while a learning disability affects a specific academic skill like reading, writing, or math. A comprehensive evaluation looks at both, since treating one without recognizing the other can leave part of the picture unaddressed.
Learning disabilities are often identified in early elementary school, once a child is expected to read, write, and do math independently, though some are caught earlier and others aren’t recognized until later grades when academic demands increase. Earlier identification generally means earlier support.
It starts with an online intake conversation about your concerns and your child’s history, followed by a full day of in-person testing and a feedback appointment where you receive the results and recommendations. No referral or diagnosis in hand is needed to get started.
A comprehensive evaluation looks at reading, writing, math, attention, and emotional functioning together, rather than testing one skill in isolation. It combines standardized testing, a conversation with your child, input from you and your child’s teachers, and a review of academic records like report cards or prior evaluations.
After a diagnosis, you receive a written report with specific recommendations, which can support an IEP or 504 request, guide conversations with your child’s school, and point toward tutors or specialists if additional support outside the evaluation makes sense.
An IEP provides specialized instruction and services for a child whose learning disability significantly affects their education, while a 504 plan provides accommodations, like extra time or modified assignments, without changing the instruction itself. Which one fits depends on the severity and type of need identified during an evaluation.
A 504 plan can be quicker and simpler for a school to put in place than an IEP, which requires additional evaluation and paperwork on the school’s end. That doesn’t mean a 504 plan is always the right fit. An outside evaluation gives you independent information to bring into that conversation.
Common accommodations include extended time on tests, reduced or modified homework, access to audiobooks or text-to-speech tools, use of a calculator for math facts, and preferential seating. The right combination depends on which specific areas the evaluation identifies as needing support.
No, I don’t provide ongoing tutoring or design a treatment plan myself. My role is to complete the evaluation and provide a written report with recommendations, and while I don’t do that follow-up work directly, the report gives whoever does, whether that’s a tutor, the school, or another specialist, a clear starting point.
Learning disability testing is effective at identifying what’s contributing to a child’s academic struggles, using standardized, well-researched measures alongside clinical judgment and real input from you and your child’s teachers. It doesn’t guarantee a specific outcome, but it consistently replaces guessing with a clear, usable explanation.
The testing day itself typically takes about five hours, with breaks built in throughout. Including the online intake appointment and the feedback appointment about three weeks later, the whole timeline usually spans several weeks from start to finish.
The testing portion of the evaluation is always done in person, since it requires close observation and specific testing materials. The intake appointment and the feedback appointment are both conducted online, which means only the single testing day requires an in-person visit to Bellevue.
My office is located in the Wilburton area of Bellevue, Washington, and the evaluation day always takes place there in person. Families also travel from nearby areas like Bridle Trails, Crossroads, and Lake Hills. The online intake and feedback appointments can be done from anywhere.
Northwest Pediatric Neuropsychology is located at 2310 130th Ave. NE, Suite B-203, Bellevue, WA 98005.
Scheduling begins with an email or a phone consultation. We talk through your child’s history and current concerns, I explain how the evaluation process works, and together we confirm whether an autism evaluation is the right fit.
Learning struggles don't define your child.
If you’re not sure whether an evaluation is the right next step, a short phone call is a low-pressure way to find out.
