The need to screen students for learning disabilities is on the rise in Northern Colorado and mental health providers are having trouble meeting the demand. , a child and adolescent psychologist with the Health District of Northern Larimer County, says finding answers isn鈥檛 always straightforward, either.
鈥淵ou also have to kind of throw a broad net to see, well, is it actually ADHD? Is it actually anxiety? Is it because this child fell behind during Covid and just hasn't had the intervention to catch up? Or is there an underlying learning disability?鈥� Rigali-Oiler said. 鈥淎nd it could be a combination of all of those things. And so testing really should have a broad net that's looking at social-emotional factors, cognitive ability and achievement in order to really see where the puzzle pieces land.鈥�
When kids don鈥檛 get the screenings they need, questions about why they are struggling to achieve persist. Parents are also left to wonder when, say, kids are anxious about going to class, known as 鈥渟chool refusal,鈥� Rigali-Oiler said. Is it a learning disability, mental health, or something else? In The NoCo鈥檚 Erin O鈥橳oole sat down with Rigali-Oiler to learn about the factors fueling this problem.
