Gretchen and Jeanine, the Founders of Fundamental Learning Center, had no other choice but to do the work themselves. Their kiddos were struggling and nobody could help them.
There were anxiety attacks, tummy-ache calls from the nurse, and a lot of frustration and saddess.
After years of back-and-forth, it was clear was the only option was to do it themselves. Jeanine spent six years spending three weeks in Dallas, three weeks in Wichita so she could get the best possible training for her son, Cooper.
She didn't want any other parent to feel the way she did for so long - all kids deserve to get the help they need. So, in 2000 Fundamental Learning Center was created and the impact began.
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Thousands of faces say it all.
Independent licensed psychologist tests for learning differences
His decades of helping kids understand their strengths has made a lasting impact.
Brian Stone, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who offices at Phillips Fundamental Learning Center. He tests children for learning disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, AD/HD, dyscalculia and nonverbal learning disorder.
Dr. Stone’s typical test window begins at 10 a.m. and consists of 1.5 – 2.5 hours of testing. Parents then can take their child on a 1.5-hour lunch break, while Dr. Stone scores and prepares results. He spends one hour reviewing the test results with parents and the child, and then he prepares a 7-11-page report the same day. This documentation can be used to take to the child’s school to request interventions.
updated July, 2019
Brian Stone, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
Private Practice Office: Phillips Fundamental Learning Center (PFLC)
2220 E. 21st St. N., (21st & Opportunity Dr.),
Wichita, KS 67214
ph (316) 684-7323
COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATIONS (TESTING) FOR LEARNING DISORDERS:
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, AD/HD, Dyscalculia, Nonverbal Learning Disorder
Note: I'm NOT an expert on Autism Spectrum Disorder — that's better referred through the public schools!
DYSLEXIA IS:
A WEAKNESS
IN A SEA OF STRENGTHS
Dyslexia is NOT seeing things backwards.
Dyslexia is difficulty processing the sounds & symbols of language.
Dyslexia is an inherited pattern of strengths in high-level thinking, & weaknesses in sound-language processing: taking in, storing, & retrieving sound-text information.
The processing weaknesses interfere with reading & writing, but give strengths in high-level thinking — the student can think in ways others cannot, at the expense of difficulty automatically processing text.
Appropriate instruction builds & reinforces brain connections for reading,
TESTING:
I test folks age 7 thru 50.
Testing starts at 10 AM.
Testing takes 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Parents fill out a short form & wait, or return 11:30-ish when we finish.
Then I need 1 1/2 hours to score & prepare results.
Parents, student & I go over the results that afternoon from about 1:00 to 2:00.
Then I write a 7-11 page report (scores, explanations, recommendations) & email you a scanned pdf of the report that evening (same day service(D) & mail you a hardcopy of the report.
Eventually, I may slow down & finish the report the next day (next day service)!
TOTAL COST = $1750.00
You must pay by CHECK (to Brian Stone) or CASH the day of the testing.
$50 discount for cash!
Insurance is unlikely to pay, but I'll give you a receipt with insurance codes, in case you want to file for reimbursement.
I DON'T file insurance.
It's "psychological testing by PhD psych" CPT codes 93136, 96137, 96130, 96131 under "behavioral health benefits" (mainly for AD/HD Predominantly Inattentive Type, DSM-5 314.00, ICD-10 F90.0)
Insurance doesn't care about Specific Learning Disorder w/ Impairment in Reading (Dyslexia) DSM-5 315.00, ICD-10 F81,0. I'm a doctoral level KS licensed psychologist (KS LP # 1073, NPI # 1912297334) & an out of network health care provider (BC/BS non-contracting provider # 119729) but insurance is unlikely to pay.
It can be paid from a health flex savings account, & can count toward a deductible.
I have no tax ID#
$1750 breaks down into 7 hours psych testing @ $250/hour of CPT codes and hours
96136 1 hour psychological testing/administration/scoring by psychologist
96137 2 hours psychological testing/administration/scoring by psychologist
96130 1 hour interpretation/documentation/feedback
96131 3 hours interpretation/documentation/feedback
= 7 hrs at $250 per hour = $1750.00
If you cancel — please call & let us know!
Where My office is: INSIDE of Fundamental Learning Center: 2220 E. 21st St. N., Wichita, KS 67214 (about 4 blocks East of Hwy 135 on 21St St. North) at "21st & Opportunity Dr." ph: (316) 684-7323.
PHILOSOPHY:
My goal is for you to better understand your child's pattern of strengths & weakness & how it affects his or her life, especially in school, & what to do next. I try to explain your child's pattern of strengths & weaknesses in a meaningful & practical way - & to focus on their strengths.
TESTS:
I currently give the following tests.
I may add or subtract a few subtests, depending on the situation (& if new & better tests have come out).
Cognitive/High-Level Thinking/Ability Woodcock-Johnson-IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-lV)
gives composites of high-level thinking: separates out verbal, 2D Nonverbal Patterns, & 3D spatial, & gives automatic processing (less cognitively complex-relatively independent areas) that are very relevant to school.
Processing
WJ-IV Cognitive + WJ-IV Tests of Oral Language
Rapid Language Retrieval / "speed of lexical access" retrieval speed for exact sound, word & rote fact - Wi.1-1V Rapid Picture Naming, Retrieval Fluency, Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing 2nd Ed., rapid naming
Phonological skills: WJ-IV sound awareness, phonological processing
Academic Achievement
READING WJ-IV subtests
Letter-Word ID (word reading — untimed phonics)
Word Attack (nonsense word reading — untimed high frequency phonics)
Sentence Reading Fluency (timed reading rate),
Word Reading Fluency,
Oral Reading,
Passage Comprehension,
Reading Recall
TOWRE-2
Test of Word Reading Efficiency (timed phonics)
WRITING: WJ-IV subtests
Spelling (nonsense words & real words - high & low frequency phonics)
Writing Samples (untimed high-level writing)
Sentence Writing Fluency (writing speed & accuracy)
MATH: WJ-IV subtests
Calculation (untimed high-level math)
Math Facts Fluency (math speed & accuracy on basic calculations)
Behavior:
History, DSM-5 checklist, WHO Self Report questionnaire, interview, etc.
MY BACKGROUND
I've tested about 3000 students in the last 35 years, & have been involved in all aspects of this field: School Psychologist, Licensed Psychologist, Test Developer - Project Director, & Tenured Associate Professor of School Psychology, author of dozens of peer-reviewed research articles on assessment, chapters in textbooks on assessment, taught many graduate courses on testing, psychometrics, statistics, & special ed. law.
I've consulted for testing companies, including the College Board (SAT), Riverside Publishing, The Psychological Corporation, etc.
I've learned more from parents, Phillips Fundamental Learning Center, teachers, & kids (including my own)
than from any academic setting or textbook!
Thanks to the Navy, I've been to the University of Illinois, George Washington University (AS), Florida Keys Community College (I), Chapman College, St. Leo College, Columbia College (BA), BYU (Masters/Specialist), Ball State University (APA approved PhD, School Psychology).
Reading & Writing: Get good treatment going early - don't wait for testing!
Best to spend the money on good treatment. Testing will still pick up the pattern of dyslexia, because processing deficits remain though untimed phonics improves! Appropriate programs emphasize phonemic awareness, explicit systematic synthetic phonics, fluency & comprehension, vocabulary, & writing thru varied, immediate-feedback multisensory instruction: Orton-Gillingham or Lindamood-Bell based programs like:
Alphabetic Phonics & Multisensory Reading & Spelling
(Phillips Fundamental Learning Center,
316- 684-7323)
Barton
Phonemic Awareness: readingrockets.org
Math multisensory math (FLC 684-7323)
Websites
NCLD.org LD.org
dyslexia.yale.edu
youtubexonniuseridrseide
DYSLEXIA SIGNS
Preschool
has difficulty rhyming, pronouncing words, learning & remembering letters, doesn't know letters in own name — bright, hands-on learner in other areas
KG - 1st Grade:
has difficulty rhyming, remembering phone #, address, names, may get it one day, forget the next, mixes up order of sounds or letters in words, reads big as dig, doesn't like reading, prefers to listen
High-level thinking strengths: figures things out hands-on, solves puzzles, likes Legos, good comprehension of stories read aloud.
2nd - 8th Grade:
leaves out parts of words or confuses sound order; takes a long time, gets long words right but short words wrong, omits or inserts short words, forgets skills just learned - seems like a brand new word, omits or adds sounds, suffixes, plurals, reading choppy, lacks expression, takes longer on tests & homework, difficult learning foreign language, doesn't like reading
Strengths: understands big picture concepts, generates ideas, curious, understands what's read aloud, hands-on, thinks creatively, does better when more time on tests
Adolescents/Adults: reading is slow & laborious, doesn't read for pleasure, reads fine in area of expertise, avoids oral reading, poor spelling, uses short words when writing ACT/SAT search on accommodations or disabilities at www.act.org & collegeboard.org Test companies usually approve accommodations from a school counselor IF a student has had a plan of accommodations for 3 years (ACT) or 4 mos. (SAT), testing is current (3 years + for ACT, 6 years for SAT) & the school doesn't have too many students with accommodations.
Otherwise, one must submit their report & other info for case review. If achievement is close to grade level, ACT says impairment is NOT severe enough to warrant accommodations, bic disabilities require "material limitation" (evidence of below average performance — multiple reading subtests < 25th percentile, plus evidence of low grades on tests or courses.)
Colleges are more lenient & most relaxed their old 3-year test shelf life requirement (check their website or call 'ern!)
Sometimes the best timing strategy is to be tested about age 15/16 - in time for ACT, & it still counts for college!
Other evaluators:
http://kasp.org/ndependent-evaluators-list
School psychs can test your child sooner than I & at a lower price!
They'll say "Learning Disorder in Reading" (LD) instead of "Dyslexia" — but, they're the same thing!
Public school teams have to "consider" my report for Special Education & Section 504 decisions, but the final decision is theirs. You can refer your child (in writing) for a free evaluation thru the public school.
After meetings & interventions the school team may decide to test the child for 1 of 13 federally designated areas of exceptionality (SLD in reading, OHI, etc.) Schools won't test if the child is not struggling enough (the child has to be one of the lowest in the class).
To qualify, the child must meet the school's criteria for that designation, plus have an "educational need" (be tar below grade level). Schools are overburdened with difficult cases, & can't always be counted on to provide what you need, laic they are stretched so thin. Also, the law is schools don't have to provide the best possible education, but merely something that helps.
Special Education - & - Section 504 are totally separate!
Special Education is IEP services & accommodations, whereas Section 504 = accommodations only (& less paperwork).
A medical diagnosis is not needed for a Section 504 plan. 504/ADA law defines disability as (1) "a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities" (2) a record of such an impairment, or (3) regarded as having such an impairment (e.g., having previously been allowed accommodations). 34 C.F.R. §104.3(j)(1)
Therefore, a dyslexic student who does not qualify for Special Ed as SLD,
but who has below average reading, can qualify for a Section 504 Plan of Accommodations
(JL Martin, Attorney, 2010).
My receipts & reports typically include the diagnoses in a format similar to this:
DSM 315.00
Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in Reading (Dyslexia, Severe in oral reading accuracy & fluency)
He thinks at gifted adult levels, but his sound-language-symbol processing at 11-13 year level pulls down Reading Fluency to 13-year level. High-level thinking must help process & is less available for comprehension. ICD.10 F81.0
DSM 314.00 AD/HD
Predominantly Inattentive Presentation (Moderate)
He focuses wet at hands-on thinking because it gets right in & he thinks at gifted levels with it, but he can't always efficiently process sound-symbol-text info_ The more tie processes, the lower his processing gets by the end of the day. ICD-10 F90.0
Selected Publications of mine in Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals:
Stone, (1993). Bias in learning disabilities placement. Psychological Reports, 72, 1243-1247.
Stone, B.J. (1992). Joint confirmatory factor analyses of the DAS and ISC-R. Journal of School Psychology,
30 185-196.
Stone, B.J. (1992). Prediction of achievement by Asian-American and White children, Journal of School Psychology, 30, 91-99.
Stone, B.J. (1992), Joint factor analysis of the DAS and WISC-R. Diagnostioue 17 176-184.
Stone, B.J., Gridley, B.E. & Treloar, J.H. (1992). Validation of a battery of preschool screening tests for predicting special education placement. Diagnostique 17 289-297.
Stone, B.J. & Gridley, B.E. (1991). Test bias of a kindergarten screening battery: Predicting achievement for White and American Indian elementary students_ School Psychology Review, 20 132-137.
Stone, B.J., Gridley, B.F. & Gyurke, J. (1991). Confirmatory factor analysis of the WPPSI-R at the extreme ends of the age range. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 9 263-270.
Stone, B.J., Cundick, B.P. & Swanson, 0, (1988). Special education screening system: Group achievement test. Exceptional Children 55 71-75.
Selected Book Chapters:
Stone, B.J. (1995). Best practices in the use or standardized assessments. in A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology Third Edition (pp_ 841-848). Washington DC: National Association of School Psychologists.
Stone, BA.. Gray, J.W. & Dean, R.S. (1989). The school psychologist in a neurological setting. In R.C. D'Arnato & R_S. Dean (Eds.), The school psychologist in nontraditional settings (pp.139-157). Hillside. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaurn.
Selected National Professional Meetings
Stone. B.J. (2009, November). Dyslexia: Pre- & Post Treatment Poster presented at the annual meeting of the international Dyslexia Association, Orlando, FL.
Stone, B.J. (2006. November). Dyslexia's Diagnostic Pattern of Strengths & Weaknesses; What Improves During Alphabetic Phonics Treatment? 90-minute Research Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Dyslexia Association, Indianapolis, IN.