Practitioner's analysis based on the ALDS results and overall knowledge of Pierre

Pierre's oral language is strong but on many occasions throughout the screening tool process in both Part 1 and Part 2, the practitioner had to read many of the questions because of Pierre's low level of reading in English. From her initial introduction to Pierre, the practitioner suspected Pierre may have a learning disability. The practitioner talked about the way Pierre answered some of the questions on the self-inventory and discovered that they were not an actual reflection of his skills. After the discussion, Pierre wanted to do the test over again. Pierre's lack of comprehension and weak self-assessment appears to have influenced the results. His actual reading and spelling skills are extremely weak. Although the ALDS interpretation indicates no learning disability, based on the practitioner's verbal discussion and further inquiry into Pierre's skills and comprehension, the practitioner made a referral to a local agency for further assessments.

Discussion questions:

How would you handle this situation?
What other factors may be impacting Pierre's learning?

Practitioner's impressions of the ALDS tool:

The practitioner who administered the ALDS tool to both Jessica and Pierre indicated that she would continue to use the ALDS tool but in combination with other assessment tools. The practitioner reported that the time to administer, score and interpret the tool was manageable. She further noted that it was easy to administer with the learners and agreed that it gave her a better understanding of the learner's needs.