Learning Disabilities

Clinically reviewed by Ambreen Shahabuddin, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Licensed Psychologist  |  Last updated June 2026  |  Family Psychology Associates has served Tampa Bay since 1992.

Learning disabilities affect roughly 5 to 10 percent of school-age children. Per long-standing prevalence data summarized by the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia alone affects approximately 1 in 5 people with a reading difficulty, and many of those individuals move through school and adult life without ever receiving a formal diagnosis or the accommodations that would have made a meaningful difference. A learning disability is not a sign of low intelligence. It is a specific pattern in how the brain processes particular types of information, and it sits next to, rather than within, a child’s general cognitive ability.

FPA has been providing psychoeducational evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults in Tampa Bay for more than three decades. The strength of our program is the completeness of the evaluation, the quality of the written report, and our ongoing work with families to translate results into real-world accommodations in school, home, and work.

What a Learning Disability Actually Is

A learning disability is a specific weakness in one or more information-processing systems that are required for academic work. The result is below-average performance in a specific academic area (reading, writing, or math) despite average or above-average general cognitive ability. The standard categories include:

• Dyslexia. A specific learning disability in reading, often involving phonological processing, decoding, fluency, or comprehension.
• Dysgraphia. A specific learning disability in written expression, involving handwriting, spelling, or organization of written work.
• Dyscalculia. A specific learning disability in math, involving number sense, calculation, or mathematical reasoning.
• Auditory processing disorder. A specific difficulty in how the brain processes information received through hearing, not explained by hearing loss.
• Visual processing difficulty. A specific difficulty in how the brain interprets visual information, not explained by visual acuity.
• Processing speed concerns. Significantly slower processing of information than peers of similar cognitive ability, which often shows up as timed-test performance well below untimed performance.

These patterns are typically identified through comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation, which pairs standardized cognitive testing with standardized academic achievement testing, looking for the specific discrepancies that define a learning disability.

What We See in Our Learning Disability Caseload

Three patterns stand out right now. Bright children, often girls, whose reading and writing look adequate in elementary school but who hit a wall in fourth or fifth grade when academic demand exceeds their compensatory strategies. Middle and high school students who are carrying both a learning disability and ADHD, where the learning disability was missed because the ADHD label was applied first and the academic struggles were attributed to attention alone. And adults who were never tested in childhood, often because they went to school before learning disability identification was common, who are seeking clarity and in many cases accommodation documentation for graduate school, professional licensing exams, or workplace accommodations.

We also see a steady pattern of clients whose reading, writing, or math difficulties are layered with anxiety, depression, or trauma. Sorting those threads out in the evaluation matters, because treating the co-occurring anxiety while missing the underlying learning disability, or accommodating the learning disability while leaving untreated depression in place, both produce partial results. The comprehensive evaluation is designed to look for everything that is relevant.

A population that often goes under-served is students whose families suspect a learning disability, have asked the school for an evaluation, and have been told the child does not qualify for school-based testing. School eligibility for special education has specific legal thresholds that are not the same as a clinical learning disability diagnosis. Many children with real, diagnosable learning disabilities do not meet the school’s eligibility threshold. A private comprehensive evaluation often identifies the disability, opens the door to 504 accommodations, and informs a more productive conversation with the school.

How Our Psychoeducational Evaluations Work

A psychoeducational evaluation at FPA generally includes the following elements:

• Detailed clinical interview and developmental history. With the parents for a child, and with the client for an adult.
• Review of school records. Report cards, standardized test results, prior evaluations, and any existing 504 Plan or IEP documentation.
• Teacher and parent rating scales. Standardized instruments that capture the client’s functioning across classrooms and environments.
• Cognitive (IQ) testing. Current, norm-referenced instruments to characterize the full cognitive profile, including verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.
• Academic achievement testing. Standardized assessment of reading (decoding, fluency, comprehension), writing (spelling, handwriting, written expression), and math (calculation, reasoning).
• Processing assessments. Visual-motor integration, verbal and visual memory, auditory processing, and other specific processing systems that a learning disability can affect.
• Attention and executive function assessment. Because ADHD commonly co-occurs with learning disability, and the treatment plan depends on sorting that out.
• Emotional and behavioral screening. When anxiety, depression, or behavioral issues are part of the picture, we characterize them as part of the evaluation.
• Integrated written report. A narrative report that pulls the full data set together, identifies any diagnoses, and lays out concrete recommendations for home, school, and any next-step clinical or educational services.
• Feedback conference. An in-person or telehealth meeting where we walk you through the findings and recommendations.

What the Report Enables

• 504 Plan development. Our evaluations provide the documentation required for a 504 Plan in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, and other local school districts.
• IEP eligibility documentation. When the evaluation supports eligibility under federal special education categories, our reports are written in language that school teams can use in eligibility determination.
• Standardized testing accommodations. Evaluations support accommodation requests on the SAT, ACT, AP exams, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and bar exam. We stay current on the specific requirements of each testing body.
• Private school accommodations. Private and independent schools generally use the evaluation report to put appropriate accommodations in place.
• College and graduate school accommodations. Disability services offices at colleges and graduate programs typically require a recent comprehensive evaluation to establish eligibility.
• Workplace and professional licensing accommodations. Our reports are written to meet the documentation standards typical of workplace accommodation requests and professional licensing exams.

Clinicians Who Specialize in Learning Disability Evaluation

Ambreen Shahabuddin, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Our psychoeducational evaluation program is led by Ambreen Shahabuddin, Ph.D., BCBA-D, a licensed psychologist and doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst who completed her internship and postdoctoral training at Emory University and Stanford University, with professional experience at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Shahabuddin conducts learning disability, ADHD, and giftedness evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults, and brings particular depth to cases that involve behavioral or autism spectrum considerations. Our intake team will discuss your referral question and scheduling when you call.

Frequently Asked Questions About Learning Disability Evaluation

How do I know if my child needs testing?

Common signals include reading or writing that lags behind peers, grades that do not match the child’s evident intelligence, homework that takes much longer than it should, avoidance of reading, anxiety around school, and teacher feedback that the child is not working to potential. Any of those, particularly in combination, is worth a consultation.

The school did their own testing and said my child does not qualify. Is there still something to do?

Often yes. School eligibility for special education has legal thresholds that are not the same as a clinical learning disability diagnosis. Many children who do not qualify for an IEP do qualify for a 504 Plan, and many children with genuine learning disabilities were not identified by the school’s screening. A private comprehensive evaluation clarifies the picture and frequently produces a workable path forward.

How long does the evaluation take?

A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation typically runs across 3 to 4 appointments: an intake interview and one or two testing sessions, followed by a feedback conference. The full written report is generally delivered within 3 to 4 weeks of the feedback conference.

Do you test for dyslexia specifically?

Yes. Dyslexia is one of the most common diagnostic questions we see. Our dyslexia evaluations use current, evidence-based instruments that assess phonological processing, decoding, fluency, and comprehension, and we provide clear diagnostic conclusions and accommodation recommendations.

Do adults come in for learning disability testing?

Yes. Adult learning disability evaluation is a steady and growing part of our caseload, particularly for graduate school applicants, professional licensing candidates, and adults seeking workplace accommodations.

What does it cost and does insurance cover it?

There is no single price because evaluations are scoped to their purpose: documentation for school accommodations, college testing accommodations, or a targeted diagnostic question each call for a different battery, and some situations also require ruling out ADHD or other co-occurring conditions. Testing is billed on a fee-for-service basis outside of insurance, and we provide superbills that families can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement. We quote a specific fee at intake before any testing begins.

Do you offer telehealth for evaluation?

The clinical interview and feedback conference can be conducted by telehealth. The direct testing itself is done in person because standardized instruments require controlled conditions.

Related Services at FPA

Learning disabilities frequently travel with other concerns. You may also want to look at our pages on psychological testing, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, child therapy, teen therapy, and young adult therapy.

Where We See Clients

Family Psychology Associates provides learning disability evaluation at our offices in St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor, and Trinity. Testing is conducted in person; intake and feedback conferences are available by telehealth throughout Florida. To request an evaluation consultation, visit our Contact Us page.

Our Clinical Standards

Every clinician at Family Psychology Associates holds a current Florida state license. Our evaluation team includes doctoral-level psychologists and an educational specialist with deep expertise in psychoeducational assessment. Our test batteries use current, norm-referenced instruments selected for each referral question. Content on this page reflects clinical approaches currently used by our practice and is reviewed by FPA’s clinical leadership. It is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized clinical consultation.