2021年11月2日,

儿童学习障碍的早期诊断是至关重要的。创始人和首席执行官斯特凡•鲍尔在线学习评估平台的标记学习,亲身经历。“我在学校很努力,”他告诉《福布斯》。“我记得坐在我弟弟在这些特殊教育类思考,到底是怎么回事呢?老师告诉我的父母我们会幸运高中毕业。”鲍尔和标记的其他创始人兼首席产品和营销官艾米丽Yudofsky,谁还在学校,幸运的是他们的父母不接受可怕的预言,而不是孩子们私下里进行测试。与他们的阅读障碍诊断,Yudofsky和鲍尔在学校,耶鲁大学继续学习。不过,并非每个家庭都能负担得起这样的干预。大多数保险计划不包括教育评估,可以单个测试的成本高达10000美元。标记合伙人知道没有父母的支持和金融支持他们的生活将是一个不同的故事。“无数次我想‘哦,我的上帝会发生什么,如果我的父母无法支付我的测试或导师吗?“Yudofsky告诉《福布斯》。 Schools are required by federal law to evaluate any student who may have conditions that interfere with learning, including dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety and more, but the system depends on access and can lack equity. Bauer and Yudofsky founded Marker as a way to work with both schools and families to make the tests more accessible. The five-month-old startup is raising a $4 million seed round, as originally reported in Midas Touch newsletter , to continue building out its network of licensed professionals and to fund expansion into new states; it’s currently available in seven. States including New York, Florida and New Jersey were fast adopters. The round was funded by Divergent Ventures, Operator Partners and Primary Ventures, among others. Jason Shuman, a partner at Primary, says the company instantly resonated with him as both of his siblings were subject to the routine tests throughout their childhoods. “About 20% of children in the U.S. have a learning disability and you have 4% of kids getting diagnosed? That gap is absolutely mind blowing to me and really just unacceptable,” he says. “These kids deserve better and the only way to do it is to approach it through the use of technology with a company like Marker.” The New York-based company brings the learning disability diagnostic process online — and identical to the in-person test — for a price of $799; schools pay when the test runs through them. Kids are connected with a licensed psychologist and perform the two-day test remotely. Marker sends them all the materials they need and a camera so the psychologist can watch the student’s hands while they take the exam. The psychologists will then meet with the parents to discuss the potential diagnosis and help them get started on formulating an independent education plan (IEP) if necessary. Marker also makes it easier for the psychologists involved because the startup’s tech helps automate parts of the lengthy reporting process which helps reduce strain on the psychologists. So far outreach from schools has been strong. The need for this service is great and growing, Bauer says, beyond the initial diagnosis kids continue to get reevaluated every three years after. Bauer adds that with Covid-19 causing a mental health crisis among kids, school psychologists are faced with even less time to perform these tests and the mix of hybrid schooling and families opting out of in person learning has made the tests even less accessible. Marker hopes to change that. “In the long run this company will be the advocate for children across America,” Shuman says. “Everything from evaluations to therapy to advocacy or tutoring, all the things that you need you will have a trusted brand to go to in an [more] affordable way.” MORE FOR YOU