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You read the chapter twice and still can't say what it was about. Reading feels slow and effortful, your essays never capture what you know, or timed exams end before you reach the last page. If that sounds familiar, you may be wondering whether ADHD, dyslexia, or another learning difference is part of the picture, and whether you could qualify for accommodations such as extended time.

The answer usually starts with a psychoeducational evaluation, which can look at attention, learning, and the thinking skills underneath both in one set of appointments. For college students, the details matter. What your university needs is often quite different from what the LSAT, MCAT, or GRE will ask for later. A little planning now can save you from paying for a second evaluation in two years.

Here is what each one typically looks for, and how an evaluation at Arizona Behavioral Health Associates, P.C. in Flagstaff can help.

What counts as a learning difference?

"Learning difference" is a broad, everyday term for the ways people take in, process, and show what they know. An evaluation can look at several of them together, because they often overlap:

• ADHD, which affects attention, organization, and follow-through.
• Specific learning disabilities, such as dyslexia (reading), dysgraphia (written expression), and dyscalculia (math).
• Slow processing speed or weak working memory, which can make timed work harder even when understanding is strong.
• Executive functioning difficulties, such as planning, starting tasks, and managing time.
• Autism, or autism together with ADHD (AuDHD), which can shape how a student learns and handles the demands of school.

Not every learning difference is a disability under the law. To qualify for accommodations, the evaluation has to show that the condition substantially limits you in an area such as reading, learning, or test taking. A good evaluation also maps your strengths, which helps whether or not accommodations are the goal.

At NAU: a flexible process, and you can start without paperwork

Northern Arizona University's Disability Resources office uses three steps: you submit a self-identification form, share whatever documentation you have, and meet with staff for an intake interview. The interview does not wait on paperwork, so you can begin before an evaluation is finished.

Under Arizona law, several kinds of records can establish that you have a disability, including accommodations from high school or another college, approved accommodations from a testing organization, letters from past providers, and formal psychological evaluations from a licensed professional. NAU may still ask for more information about why you need a specific accommodation.

Three practical points for NAU students:

• Allow time. NAU says review can take up to four weeks, so start early in the semester, not the week before finals.
• Activate every term. Approved accommodations have to be activated online each semester before professors are notified.
• Incoming students can start now. Disability Resources will review documentation from prospective students before they are admitted.

If you already had an IEP or a 504 plan, that may be enough for NAU, but it usually has to rest on a very recent evaluation, completed in the last three years. Other colleges, including Coconino Community College and universities out of state, set their own rules, so check with your school's disability office.

For the LSAT, MCAT, and GRE: recent, thorough, and specific

Graduate and professional admission tests ask for much more than most colleges do. A diagnosis by itself, or a letter that only mentions a past diagnosis, is generally not enough. The testing organizations want a recent, comprehensive evaluation that shows how your condition affects you under timed testing conditions.

Across all three, a strong report usually includes:

• A qualified evaluator who is licensed and experienced with the condition, writing on letterhead and signing the report.
• Your history, including early signs of attention or learning problems, school records, and any accommodations you have used before.
• Standardized testing of attention, thinking skills, and academic skills such as reading speed, with the scores listed.
• Other explanations ruled out, such as anxiety, depression, or sleep problems that can look like ADHD, or limited exposure to English that can look like a learning disability.
• Specific recommendations, with a reason for each accommodation, such as exactly how much extra time and why.

For a learning disability, the organizations look for a few more things. The AAMC, for example, asks for a measure of intellectual ability, timed and untimed achievement tests in reading, writing, and math, and several tests showing a processing weakness that explains where you underachieve. Its application guidelines also ask for score reports from earlier standardized tests you have taken, such as the SAT or ACT, so keep copies of those.

Because the MCAT window is the shortest, pre-med students should time an evaluation with their test date in mind. A thorough evaluation completed in your junior year can often serve both your university and a law school or graduate school application, as long as it stays within each organization's time limit.

What an evaluation with us involves

Dr. Della S. Lusk conducts formal psychological and educational evaluations at our office in the Flagstaff Doctors' Village downtown, with its own parking lot and a Mountain Line bus stop across the street. Testing happens in person because some instruments must be given face to face. Evaluations are available in English and Spanish.

A typical evaluation includes:

1. An interview about your history, school experience, and what is getting in the way now.
2. Testing sessions that combine structured tasks with conversation about how you think and work. Most evaluations take two part-day sessions to complete.
3. A written report with your results, diagnosis if one applies, and recommendations. Reports can be written to the requirements of the school or testing agency of your choice, and can document the need for a range of accommodations.
4. A feedback meeting to go over the findings and next steps. Feedback is always part of the process.

When it is clinically indicated, the evaluation can include a comprehensive autism assessment, which matters for students who wonder whether AuDHD better describes them. Afterward, coaching and therapy for ADHD, executive functioning, and autism are available in person or by secure video in more than 40 states, which helps if you go home for the summer or move for graduate school.

Evaluations range from $1,000 to $4,500, depending on the nature and complexity of the evaluation. Psychological testing is generally not covered, or not covered well, by health plans, so it is usually a self-pay service. Our practice generally works out-of-network. We accept major credit and debit cards and HSA, FSA, and HRA cards, and if you have out-of-network benefits, we will submit claims to your insurer on your behalf.

Start earlier than you think

Work backward from your deadline. Allow time to schedule and complete the evaluation and receive the report, then add the review time: up to four weeks at NAU, and longer for testing organizations, which often ask for more information before deciding. If you plan to take the LSAT, MCAT, or GRE, check each organization's accommodation deadline and plan to have your report in hand months before your test date.

Questions students ask

I was diagnosed with ADHD or a learning disability as a child. Do I need a new evaluation? For NAU, your old records may be enough. For the LSAT, MCAT, or GRE, an evaluation older than three to five years usually needs to be updated, and the new report has to confirm the diagnosis with current data rather than simply refer to the old one.

I did fine in high school. Can a learning disability show up in college? Yes. Many bright students compensate through high school, and the reading load and timed exams of college reveal difficulties for the first time. Your evaluator will still look for earlier signs in your school history, since testing organizations ask about them.

Will my medical or law school know I had accommodations? LSAC does not annotate the score reports of people who take the LSAT with accommodations, ETS says it has stopped flagging almost all scores earned with accommodations, and the AAMC states that the documentation you submit is confidential.

Can the whole evaluation be done online? Not entirely. Some tests must be given in person, so testing takes place at our Flagstaff office. Coaching and therapy afterward can happen by video.

What if I take ADHD medication? Tell your evaluator. The report should describe how you function in daily life and under testing conditions, and your evaluator can explain how medication fits into the picture.

I'm not sure I need a full evaluation. That is a common place to start. We also offer a brief mental health checkup, and our staff can connect you with our intake specialist, Alethea Braun-Dunagan, M.A., LPC, for a complimentary 20-minute video visit to talk through your situation.

Ready to get answers?

Whether you need documentation for NAU this semester or a report for the LSAT, MCAT, or GRE next year, we can help you plan the right evaluation. Schedule online, call our office at (928) 774-7997, or read more about our psychological evaluations and ADHD assessment and coaching.

Accommodation rules change, and each school and testing organization makes its own decisions. Check the current requirements with your school's disability office and the testing organization before you apply.

Sources, read November 9, 2026: NAU Disability Resources; LSAC on documentation and accommodations; the AAMC's evaluator overview and application guidelines; ETS documentation guidelines and test taker questions.

This post shares general information and is not a substitute for professional care.