The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread and sustained psychosocial and educational disruption for children and adolescents. We review evidence demonstrating that changes during this period altered the developmental trajectory of this generation in a lasting way that needs to be considered in assessment, intervention, and in designing supports, now and into the future. Using case examples, we highlight the impact of educational disruption on the identification and treatment of learning disabilities, particularly for marginalized youth, with practical guidance for clinicians about how to advocate on behalf of these vulnerable youth.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Define the impact of educational disruption on academic skill acquisition.
Identify the common types of error that are introduced secondary to pandemic academic disruption and how that impacts learning disorder diagnoses.
Name the three groups shown to be at highest risk for adverse impact of educational disruption.

Instructional Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: Psychologists, school psychologists, mental health counselors, counselors, educational diagnosticians, neuropsychologists

Disclosure: Dr. Isquith is a coauthor of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) family of instruments and receives royalties from the sale of these products. PAR is a publisher of assessments, which may be discussed during the presentation.