Covid-19 Update

To our clients, colleagues, and fellow community members:

During this public health crisis, nothing is more important to us than your safety and well-being. We encourage you all to follow the CDC’s guidelines regarding social distancing and hygiene, and to follow the Governor’s stay-at-home recommendations. Through March 29 we have closed our offices to clients and all staff gatherings.

Our services at Learning Solutions are considered essential, and we also recognize the risk of social isolation and a lack of services to physical and emotional wellbeing. Therefore, beginning March 30 we will re-open full-time and conduct most of our appointments with clients using Telehealth resources. This includes much of the testing for Neuropsychological, Educational, and Speech and Language Evaluations, as well as ongoing therapy appointments. Almost all insurance companies have agreed to reimburse for testing using telehealth resources.

All our staff have this capability and have been trained in the use of these technologies. Given the changing nature of this crisis, we will update our plan weekly. We will resume full in-person visits as soon as we can do so safely.

Leslie, our Administrative Assistant, can guide you through the process of setting up your telehealth appointments. Please don’t hesitate to call her if you have any concerns or questions. You can reach her directly at 413-584-0265, ext. 100.

During a time of so much uncertainty and anxiety, we will strive to adapt and provide the support and guidance—to help you care for your children and yourselves. Please reach out to us anytime.

Sincerely,

Duncan Laird, LICSW
Clinical Director

Rachel Currie-Rubin, Ed.D.
Educational Director

To schedule an initial intake appointment, or if you have questions,
please call 413-584-0265.

Remote Testing Information

Medical practitioners, mental health practitioners, and those conducting assessments including psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and educators have been rallying to adapt clinical practice to the physical distancing constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Learning Solutions, our clinical services have traditionally been largely based on verbal interaction as well as interaction with materials that are shared between the examiner (psychologist, educator, and speech language pathologist) and the client. We have carefully monitored the progression of teletesting including engaging in webinars and trainings, reading articles from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Speech American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Our guiding organizations have endorsed products and procedures for testing, which we adhere to as we engage in assessment. Testing under specific conditions, which we are following, has been shown to result in valid results. In addition to their clear guidance, all organizations require clinicians to use their clinical judgement to ensure that testing procedures are appropriate in the given situation. We engage in time-sensitive, high-need and high-stakes assessments that need to continue during this time to ensure timely services. Our goal is to allow for continuity of the care and needed services provided during this time.

Though we are following guidelines to ensure that teletesting we conduct during this time is reliable and valid, there are some types of testing that need to be done in person. Therefore, we may require clients to come into the office following the easing of physical distancing rules and regulations to complete testing. We are not able to test individuals who require more in-person support during testing (e.g., young children and others with a high level of support need).

Our psychologists are following guidelines and research put out by the APA, which can be found here: https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/health-codes/testing/tele-assessment-covid-19

Our speech language pathologist is following ASHA guidelines found here: https://www.asha.org/About/Coronavirus-Updates/

Our Educational Director is using standards from both ASHA and the APA (above) to provide educational assessment services.

We are also following new research on validity and reliability as well as older studies, which provide us guidance and structure during this time. We are happy to share these studies with you upon request. We encourage you to speak with us about our practices at any time during the testing process.