|
From the
Initial Contact to the Final Conference the
Following is a Typical Sequence of Events
-
Initial phone contact with my Practice Manager
during which your reasons for the Evaluation are
established and the possibility of my being of
service to you is explored. If you feel I may be
of help, additional information is gathered such
as health, behavioral, educational and family
histories, insurance (if any) information is
reviewed, past school/treatment records are
requested and an appointment set.
-
· My
receiving treatment, educational, etc. records
for review and to double check whether I feel I
can be of assistance to you. If there are
questions as to the appropriateness of my
services, an additional phone contact or
information may be requested.
-
The
Evaluation appointment begins at 8:30 a.m.,
although for individuals from out of town, 9:00
a.m. is possible; also, for those traveling long
distances, certain area motels provide reduced
rates when traveling for medical services. We
begin with a review of history, where in the
case of a child, at least one parent is needed
(both, of course, are encouraged to attend)
after which I meet with the client alone for a
period of several hours, usually finishing about
lunch time, although in some cases continuing
for a bit after a lunch break. During this time
parents may remain in the waiting room, leave for
shopping, etc. After the evaluation is completed
there is a break during which tests are scored
and findings and recommendations developed;
these will be discussed at a final conference.
The entire procedure generally ends by mid
afternoon and a comprehensive written report is
mailed within a week; after receiving the report
if additional questions or clarifications arise,
they may be handled via phone at no charge to
you.
|
|
In this
complex world in which we live it is imperative that
all client and recipients of my reports are aware
that the findings reported may not be accepted by
school personnel as the public schools have their
own legal mandates and procedures which must be
followed in a timely fashion when a referral is
made. Neither will the findings be sufficient,
without additional client/school provided
information/history, to secure test accommodations
from companies such as Educational Testing Service
(ETS) for college entrance examinations such as the
ACT and/or pre professional or professional
examinations.
The purposes
of my evaluations are to, as efficiently and
economically as possible, get to know you or your
child's neurocognitive leaning characteristics, how
learning efficiency may be improved and what needs
to be learned for better academic and life
performance, not being limited by test, legal
or educational "cut off" scores. |
|
Think of a car with a
powerful working engine (brain), excellent lights,
tires, horn, radio, heater, air conditioning, etc.,
a very capable car, gas pedal to the floor, engine
operating at full speed BUT the
transmission stuck in low gear. This wonderful
car will, by sheer perseverance, cross the finish
line after spending much time, effort and energy but
behind all the other cars. Much like a car in the
Wisconsin winter, gas pedal to the floor but just
spinning wheels, getting nowhere fast despite
tremendous effort. We want to "fix" the transmission
so the engine (brain) can be used efficiently. We
can't make the engine more powerful but can in all
probability increase information processing and
learning efficiency.
When we work our brains efficiently we are making
good use of our abilities and learnings and we
possess feelings of confidence, satisfaction,
achievement and the world seems “right”; inefficient
brain usage may result in loss of self esteem,
feelings of stress, dissatisfaction with ourselves
and others and thinking:
“Why things don’t work out
for me no matter how hard I try?”
Perhaps the person may have been viewed as lazy and
exhorted to “work harder”, as oppositional or
passive aggressive (“You know better than that, why
don’t you pay attention!”) and to have felt
inadequate, anxious or depressed, unable to live up to their own
expectations or the expectations of others and
generally may have lived a rather frustrating life
because no matter how hard the person tried, things
just didn’t seem to get better.
Basically my goal is to help
clients become as lazy as possible - because that
means getting the job done with the least amount of
effort, without spinning one's wheels.
It is important to recognize
that recommendations include those of a Learning
Therapy, not necessarily a Tutoring, perspective. That is, the
purpose of tutoring is frequently to help an
individual achieve success in a particular class,
Learning Therapy is designed to improve overall
learning and its demonstration (test taking, daily
living, problem solving. decision making, etc.).
An analogy may be
that Tutoring is frequently akin to giving a person a fish while
Learning Therapy is teaching the person to fish.
For the gardeners among
us, we need to; 1) prepare the soil (insure
the brain is operating as efficiently as possible);
2)
determine what learning's have been missed as a
result of past inefficiencies; 3) what needs
yet to be taught/learned; 4) by what methods and; 5) plant and care for the the
seeds appropriately as they grow in the prepared soil. |