Parents are invited to the Firmstone Institute for an initial consultation about their child. They will be asked for any information about the development of their child, starting from pregnancy to the present time. All previous testing should be brought in at this time, so that the Institute can have a full picture of the child. A Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Test is administered to the child when he/she first comes to the Institute. This is a standardized test that many schools also use, but this gives the Institute a “yardstick” level for both math and reading. It also tests right-left brain strategies, which will also help verify or determine right-left brain strengths/weaknesses.

     The Bellefonds Neuropsychological Assessment Battery for Learning Disabilities is then administered. There are 32 subtests in the entire testing packet. Testing usually takes between 6 and 8 hours to complete, which is broken down into 3 to 4 2 hour sessions. These tests cover the eight cognizant areas of learning: Perception, auditory, visual, tactile awareness, (this is the area where all information is received and placed in the brain); Motor, gross and fine motor, Lateralization, to determine if the right and left hemispheres of the brain are working simultaneously and spontaneously together and to specify if there is an exact weakness to either side; Memory and Attention; Communication;  oral and written fluency, Conceptual; spatial and global,  Intermodal; reading and writing and Resolving; spatial and logical mathematics. After testing is totally completed, a comprehensive report is written that describes each test, indicating what the examiners were looking for in each test, how the child scored and if re-education is needed. The parents are then asked to come in for an exit interview and the entire report, test by test, is explained to them. If re-education is necessary, the examiners explain to the parents the actual, individual re-education program for their child. The initial testing fee includes all of the above.

     Once the parents decide to enter the program, it can commence the very next day. The child comes to the Institute for a one-hour session once a week. The Firmstone Institute provides an individualized program for each clients needs. He /she will work 20 minutes per day on their re-education exercises at home with a parent or care giver.  The re-education program is based on a rote situation, so it is imperative that the parent/child adheres to the daily sessions. The program could last from 1-2 years, depending on the severity of the child’s disability and the actual daily participation of the re-education exercises. If the parent requests, the examiners will also write to the child’s school/teacher and explain the child’s deficit areas and offer “masking techniques” to be used in the school room to aid the child until they are able to conquer their own problem.