Assessments for Dyslexia / Specific Learning Disorders

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Dyslexia, or a Specific Learning Disorder, may be an appropriate diagnosis if a child’s reading or spelling remains well below age expectation, despite having received at least 6 months of intervention or support targeting the area of difficulty.

If any or several of the following apply to your child, it may be worthwhile considering an assessment for Dyslexia, or a Specific Learning Disorder.

Are you, or your child’s teacher, concerned about your child’s ability to read or spell?

Has your child received extra literacy support in school or at home and not made the expected progress?

Is there a family history of Dyslexia, and / or reading and spelling difficulties?

Does your child:

  • Struggle to recall letter sounds, sound out words, and read words they have seen many times before? Do they continue to ‘sound out’ words they ‘should’ be familiar with? Is their reading slow and effortful?
  • Struggle to comprehend what they read?
  • Rely on ‘guessing’ or remembering rather than actually ‘reading’ the words?
  • Try to avoid doing their reading or writing homework?
  • Confuse sounds when trying to spell words, and forget how to spell familiar words?
  • Find it far easier to express themselves verbally than in writing?
  • Express their frustration around reading and / or spelling?
  • Compare their performance or abilities (unfavourably) to that of their peers?
  • Have uneven learning achievement (for example, perform at grade expectation in maths, and poorly in reading)?
  • Display well-developed abilities in other areas (for example,  reasoning, expressing themselves verbally, socialising with peers, or understanding what they hear), and their struggle to read or spell just does not ‘make sense’?

The assessment involves cognitive, literacy / academic, and phonological processing measures. Accurate assessment and diagnosis are important to allow for targeted interventions, and accommodations, to be put in place. This will ensure that the child has the best chance to develop their skills, access the curriculum, and demonstrate their knowledge.