Educational Diagnostician

No two students learn at the same level. As Teachers and School Administrators continue to realize this, they’re increasingly incorporating the help of Educational Diagnosticians. Educational Diagnosticians evaluate children’s needs, make suggestions to parents and Teachers, and coordinate treatments with other treatment professionals.

As an Educational Diagnostician, you might work with children from preschool through the teenage years. Sometimes, a Teacher recommends your services because a child is unruly in class. Other times, parents request your help because their child is failing a subject. However the child ends up in your office, you begin by evaluating her skills, strengths, disabilities, and disorders.

Once you’ve identified emotional, physical, learning, or behavioral challenges, your next task is to create a treatment plan. That might include using a certain type of desk, placing the child in a different area of the classroom, or recommending that she join a bilingual study group. You might work with Teachers to alter their teaching practices, such as offering oral tests instead of written ones. Parents also rely on you to recommend study techniques or special education courses.

In order to give the child well-rounded care, you work closely with the Teacher and Principal. You offer advice about useful programs for the classrooms and the school. In addition, you work as a team with School Psychologists and School Social Workers to make sure the child receives the emotional evaluation and support she needs to be successful in school and in life.