What Polygon does
Polygon is a new kind of psychology practice that provides remote diagnostics for dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other learning differences. The company utilizes technology to provide a better experience for both clients and its team of in-house licensed psychologists. In addition to evaluating student history and behaviors, Polygon’s psychologists utilize a variety of widely accepted gold-standard assessments, are carefully selected over a 5-stage interview process, given extensive training, and diligently adhere to the company’s clinical principles. The tests administered satisfy IDEA requirements and can inform eligibility for services like IEPs, 504 plans, and accommodations on tests like the SAT, ACT, and GRE.
Today, more than 70M people lack access to quality testing due to expensive prices, archaic manual processes, and broken psychologists supply, causing year-long waitlists. Polygon’s mission is to enable every person with a learning difference to reach their full potential.
Polygon 's current landscape
The problems in our industry are threefold. Firstly, due to a lack of technology, testing is done manually — making it very expensive. Schools pay up to $3000 for targeted tests and far more for extensive ones. It is also very expensive for anyone on the private market to access quality testing. Secondly, psychologist supply issues mean schools struggle to meet their testing demands, causing year-long waitlists in many cases. Finally, inconsistent diagnostic criteria lead to inaccurate diagnoses and ineffective accommodations. This causes litigation and a lack of quality control at many different scales. This is then augmented by a deep reproducibility issue in psychology, fueled by outdated methods and opposite interpretations of statistically light results.
The current alternatives are limited by people performing tests manually, including the newly appearing online marketplaces, which predominantly magnify the problem.
Polygon birth story
The idea initially came from Jack, founder, and CEO of Polygon, diagnosed as severely dyslexic after university. Given that he always had been an A-student while deeply struggling with reading and spelling finally getting this diagnostic was a lightbulb moment. Knowing that 1 in 5 people have a learning difference, the thought that everyone should get access to quality testing was a no-brainer.
The solution
Years of R&D from Polygon’s multi-disciplinary team that met at UC Berkeley led to the right technology to solve these issues. To achieve eight times the productivity of traditional providers while being five times cheaper than other classic alternatives, Polygon built its proprietary diagnostic OS to equip each of its clinicians.
As part of the solution, Polygon decided to hire their licensed psychologists in-house and not opt for the easier route to market that offers marketplaces. This architectural decision gives them complete control over the quality of the administered medical procedures. At the same time, their vertically integrated platform automates most of the clinical work and all the non-clinical work to enable Polygon’s clinicians to play at the top of their licenses. Unlike online marketplaces that use hourly contract workers, Polygon’s expert licensed psychologists are employees with full benefits and equity compensation, leading to genuinely best-in-class service for clients.
Polygon is on its way to disrupting the way diagnostics for learning differences are provided. The company goal is to ultimately own the whole chain that is currently powering telepsychology and be able to finally bring the reproducibility crisis down with statistically significant results in the field.
A customer story
Polygon has served many clients already, with their words having more importance than others in describing the impact such a product and experience has over one’s life. Here is an excerpt from one of their latest review: “This has definitely allowed me to learn more about myself and how my brain functions, and has given me a very firm starting point on how to deal with certain issues I have been struggling with. The very clear picture of where my mental condition stands, given by Polygon, will most certainly help me in seeking the right treatment plans and developing skills to help further.” Polygon takes pride in those eye-opening moments with clients learning about their strengths and weaknesses, and getting fully equipped to move forward with a better understanding of their cognitive abilities.
A founder quote
“Growing up, I was always very good at some things, like maths, chess, and went on to study physics at university. But I was always very bad at other things, particularly reading and spelling. And this made school a complete nightmare at times. It was only after university that I got diagnosed as being very dyslexic. It was a lightbulb moment, and it changed my life going forward. Polygon is my attempt to create the service I wish I’d had access to as a child.” - Jack Rolo, Founder and CEO at Polygon.
Check us out at HelloPolygon.com, and read more about their mission through their blog!
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