Jenny’s mother looks at Jenny’s fall 2022 educational progress report in shock. Her report states that Jenny’s reading and math calculation skills are “below grade level” and that Jenny appears sad, withdrawn throughout the school day and struggles to make friends. Jenny’s mother was happy that her daughter was finally returning to full-time, in-person school for her third-grade year after several months of intermittent remote learning due to COVID-19 during her 1st and 2nd grade year. However, Jenny’s mother did not anticipate that Jenny’s teachers would describe Jenny as a student who was struggling upon her return.

Jenny’s story is all too common these days; numerous articles have described the struggle of children and adolescents returning to school after a lengthy period of virtual learning. Even high-achieving and socially well adjusted children are at risk for experiencing a variety of learning, academic, attention, and behavioral difficulties. Unfortunately, children and adolescents who previously were demonstrating deficits in these areas have shown increased gaps in development since returning to school.

Educational research has consistently found that children who have unidentified and untreated learning, academic, behavior, and social-emotional difficulties are at risk of experiencing more serious problems later on. Educational research has also shown that early identification and intervention is key to mitigate the impact of these issues on the child, their relationships, and their future. Psychological and psychoeducational evaluation is often a critical step in helpting to identify potential issues that can be addressed before they become too great…too overwhelming.

Written by Renee Allen, Ph.D.
Psychologist

Oklahoma Psychological Evaluations (OPE) is a division of Christian Family Institute that specializes in the evaluation of children and teenagers with learning social and emotional difficulties.