Diagnostic Learning Services- ADHD & Dyslexia Testing

Doesn't Recommend

Michael P.

Joined 4 months ago

Unimpressed. Too expensive and not even a psychologist. I do not recommend.

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Trudy Voigt

Joined 2 years ago

Excellent Educational Resource. Two words describe our experience with Laurie Gaines ... Exceptional Professional! A proctor for my son's home school curriculum, we couldn't be more pleased with Laurie's reliability, caring nature, and focus on students' specific talents and needs. Laurie receives an overwhelming A+ from our family!

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MCopple

Joined 2 years ago

wonderful resource. We feel very fortunate to have met Laurie Gaines. We were overwhelmed with differing opinions and diagnoses for our daughter. Laurie helped to take the existing information and make sense of it all. She was a superior consultant for us, and gave us specific steps to guide us through the process in order to obtain a correct diagnosis. She is extremely knowledgable, responsive and compassionate. Through her resources and guidance, she helped to identify our child's strengths and weaknesses and provide a plan of action.

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alycemt

Joined 2 years ago

Very positive experience. When our son was struggling in school, his teacher recommended testing for learning disabilities. We were overwhelmed and did not know where to turn until a friend recommended Laurie Gaines. She was wonderful--courteous, compassionate, and understanding. She scheduled our son's testing appointment within 24 hours of our initial phone conversation. I didn't know how he would react to sitting through 3 hours of testing but Laurie established an instant rapport with him and he actually enjoyed his testing experience.

When Laurie followed up with test results, she was encouraging, informative, and truthful. I can't stress the importance of this enough. A friend of mine had her son tested with another group in town and walked away feeling insulted and discouraged.

One more thing--her prices are excellent. For those on a budget she charges much less than competitiors for the same services.

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Creative Tutors

Joined 2 years ago

Diagnostic Testing Services. I wish to respond to the message posted on May 12, 2011 from mom2jake.....

I work with diagnosticians and psychologist from across the Dallas Ft. Worth area and find that Laurie Gaines has a superior service where she out preforms her peers in the testing industry. Specifically, her reports are well written and easy to understand by both parents and school officials. Her testing environment is comfortable and children of all ages are at ease while testing occurs.



One of the most difficult messages to hear from a testing professional is that your child has a learning disability but when Laurie discusses the findings and shares the specific results with you she also has solutions and numerous recommendations for parent and school teachers alike. Her compassion runs through every aspect of the process and I have not known an evaluator with such concern for the well-being of her students

You are welcome to call me and I will be happy to talk to you about your child and solutions to improve their educational situation and why starting with these tests are crucial. If I were in your shoes, I would want to know the results of such tests before my school has those in hand. To be empowered with the information gives the parents a position of strength. My number is 214-282-6268 please feel free to call me .

Doesn't Recommend

mom2jake

Joined 2 years ago

Caution: Reviews are too good to be true.... Overall, Laurie did an OK job for us. Our experience was not as good as all these reviews make it seem, and while I don't usually post reviews, I wanted to share my experience and a word of caution.

After finding these rave reviews, I contacted Laurie because I wanted to have my son tested for learning disabilities, and I didn't think my son's school could do it this year. She was very good about returning my phone calls, and explaining the testing that she would perform.

The appointment was setup with no difficulties, and the staff was courteous and friendly.

The day of the testing, Laurie was late, and she had a staff member perform some of the tests until she got there. The tests lasted about 3 hours, and they gave my son a snack in between, which he appreciated. At the end of the tests, Laurie seemed rushed, gave us a quick 'it went well’, then focused on getting paid, and quickly let us know she would contact me when the report was ready to review in about a week.

When I met her to review the report, again she seemed very preoccupied and not focused. She started to review the report with me, commenting on my son's strengths, and his struggles, until I told her the child she was referring to was not my son. Then, she excused herself, she found my son's folder, and we started over. The report was about 4 pages long, and consisted mostly of the test results and summary findings of the test results. Her interpretation of the tests was that my son had learning disabilities. There were only 2 bullet point recommendations given, and I felt these were so broad they could apply to any child. It seemed very much like a cookie-cutter report. It was very disappointing.

As far as cost, I felt the cost of the testing was too high for the service she provided, and since none of this was covered by my insurance, it hurt my pocketbook even more.

Later, I shared her report with my son's school diagnostician, and she said that these tests were very limited and outdated. She went ahead and performed more thorough testing over several days, and her results showed that my son does not have any learning disabilities. She spent over an hour showing me and explaining the different tests, the ones Laurie gave, and the ones she gave my son, and discussing the findings. I wish I had waited and let my son's school provide this service for free, but having both evaluations helped gain a better understanding of my son's abilities.

In all, the service and feedback was very rushed and impersonal. I would not recommend her to my friends.

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merchant174421

Joined 3 years ago

May 2011 - Email received from parent. It is so great to get feedback from parents, and I like to share what they are saying. Here is a recent email we received from a parent:

Hello Laurie,

I just wanted to take this time to thank you for your help with testing our son. After not letting up, he has been given a 504 Plan, entrance into the school's MTA program, and the Dyslexia bundle for the TAKS testing. He is having speech once a week for 30 minutes privately. I am very hopeful for the future, and I thank you for testing him and giving me direction in what to do next.

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DLS Testimonials

Joined 3 years ago

Recent email received from client. July 16, 2010

After speaking with the college disabilities office I realized that we did not have sufficient current testing to secure adaptations at college for my daughter. We are leaving town for 10 days then she has orientation and moves to college August 12 so we were in a bit of a panic to get the testing done and get direction on what to do.



Laurie, with Diagnostic Learning Services, did my daughter's testing four years ago and even came with us to meetings at PISD and was a huge advocate for her and our family. In my opinion Laurie went above and beyond for us (at no extra charge). For this reason I wanted to use her again but was not sure if she would be able to help us on such short notice – but she did!!!!



I contacted Laurie last week and she returned my call while she was on vacation! I explained our short time frame and that we would be out of town most of the rest of the summer, and Laurie adjusted her schedule to accommodate ours! She tested my daughter on Tuesday, and my daughter just loved her. She made her feel comfortable and encouraged her and didn’t make her feel like she was stupid or lacking when she missed a problem or couldn’t finish something. Then, because we are going out of town, Laurie calculated all of the data, wrote up a wonderful report for us and again rearranged her schedule to meet with us before we left!



We met with Laurie today and she was fabulous! She took extra time to contact my daughter’s college to find out exactly what tests and documentation was required and prepared a special report for us. She took time to explain all of the testing, the scores and what they mean. She shared with us what the school looks for and what adaptations she recommended based on the test results (which were exactly on target with what my daughter thought she needed) and she took time to share with my daughter what her strengths are and weaknesses and how that will help her in college and what she needs to be careful of in college. She had great suggestions and feedback and was very generous with her time with us today. She encouraged my daughter and made her feel like an incredibly gifted student, which she is, despite her learning difference. Laurie did a lot to boost her confidence, to assure all of us about the future and her success in college and prepared a great packet that my daughter can hand deliver to the disabilities office when she goes for orientation the day after we return from our trip.



I cannot say enough good things about our experiences with Laurie Gaines and Diagnostic Learning Services and because of that just wanted to share this with you as I know it is such a hard time for parents and students alike when they are going through evaluations. Laurie did a complete and thorough job, worked around our schedule, made it a pleasant experience for my daughter, was completely professional but at the same time very compassionate and fun. I cannot recommend Laurie highly enough and wanted to share this with you so you can share my endorsement with any parents who are in need of the services she provides.

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CSMobileUser3

Joined 5 years ago

So helpful. We took our daughter to Diagnostic Learning over the Christmas break! Her teacher had shared some concerns about her reading and writing but said it would take several months before the school would consider testing her. We met with Laurie and the appointment for our daughter went perfect! She actually had a pretty good time! It was only about a week before we got our results, Laurie emailed them to us so we would have time to read everything before our meeting. the testing was very thorough and we were able to get some great information! although it was still a lot of money, it was much less than other places I called and I think we got so much more!! if you think your child has a learning issue, I highly recommend Laurie and her staff!!

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sydneyp

Joined 4 years ago

A Great Experience. I recently contacted Diagnostic Learning Services to get some information about having my daughter tested for Dyslexia. I got a call back the same day and Laurie spent time on the phone explaining the assessments that they did and what kinds of information I would get. I was really impressed and felt like she would really "take care" of my daughter. We went in on a Saturday (which was great because I did not have to miss work and my daughter did not miss any school). My daughter worked with both Laurie and Michelle and had a great experience. She actually asked after we left if she was going to "get" to go back and work with them again!!

I received a copy of the assessment results via email that next week and had some time to review them before I went back in for an appointment to go over them face to face. Laurie did an excellent job explaining the results and I really feel like I have a great understanding of how my daughter learns and where her strengths and weaknesses are. Laurie also offered to attend a meeting at our school so that we can share these results with my daughter's teachers!

Overall, we had a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend Diagnostic Learning Services if you have any questions about your child's learning or if you think there may be a possible learning disability!!!!