A Sociological Perspective on Diagnosing Learning Difficulties

Abstract

Using a symbolic interaction perspective, this study focuses on the extent of agreement between various parties involved in referring children with educational difficulties to a university clinic for psychoeducational assessment. Parent's perceptions, referral agent perceptions, and diagnostic reports were compared by means of a specially devised diagnostic classification system; data were gathered on 240 cases opened in one year in a university clinic. Findings suggest that parents are most likely to seek cutside help when they disagree with the interpretation of difficulties by the school; that referral agents (physicians, psychologists, and other professionals) are more likely to seek a second opinion when they agree with the opinions of parents, and that the diagnosis more often coincides with the opinion of referral agents than with parents or schools. These findings are interpreted in light of the problematic nature of the diagnostic process, and the process of working out of individual and collective identities in parent-teacher-referral agent interactions.