Detecting Warning Signs

Discrepancy criteria for referral.

Early detection is the key to successful psychoeducational intervention. In order to know when a formal assessment needs to be triggered, teachers should be aware of discrepancy criteria.

This refers to a significant and unexplained gap between a student's apparent effort or intelligence and his or her actual academic performance.

If an orally brilliant student fails miserably in reading, or if a hard-working student fails to automate basic computation, a "red light" goes on.

Other warning signs include drastic changes in behavior, somatizations (tummy aches before school), or a phobic refusal of specific school assignments.

These discrepancies indicate that there is an invisible barrier-cognitive or emotional-that prevents potential from translating into results, justifying the need for in-depth clinical screening to rule out hidden learning disorders.

The Response to Intervention (RtI) Model

The Response to Intervention (RtI) model proposes a paradigm shift: do not wait for failure to act.

Instead of referring the student immediately to an outside clinical diagnosis, the school system must first apply increasing levels of support.

It starts with quality teaching for all (Level 1), followed by small group reinforcement for those who show difficulties (Level 2).

Only if the student shows resistance to these ordinary pedagogical interventions and does not improve his or her performance, is specialized psycho-pedagogical eva luation (Level 3).

This preventive filter ensures that difficulties caused by poor instruction or curricular gaps are resolved in the classroom, reserving clinical diagnosis for cases where a persistent neurobiological difficulty really underlies.

It is an efficient approach that prioritizes immediate educational action over diagnostic labeling.

Summary

Early detection is based on the criterion of discrepancy between intellectual potential and actual academic performance. Unexplained gaps in reading or numeracy are critical signals.

Other alerts include drastic behavioral changes, somatizations due to school stress, or refusal of specific tasks. These indicators suggest invisible barriers that require in-depth clinical exploration.

The Response to Intervention model proposes to act preventively through increasing levels of support before diagnosis. Only in the face of pedagogical resistance should specialized assessment be undertaken.