Dyslexia Assessment

A Specific Learning Disorder can only be formally diagnosed by a Psychologist – this is due to the requirement that cognitive ability must be evaluated.

Both public and private school psychologists can diagnose, but willingness may depend on their professional experience.

Geraldton Tutoring Services recommend assessment through the Dyslexia SPELD Foundation. It is a simple process by which any parent / guardian can contact them and make an appointment. Please be aware that there is a wait time for an assessment. This gives the school / parent time to provide six months of high quality, evidence based targeted intervention. This intervention must have been completed prior to assessment in order to be given a diagnosis, as this is one of the five necessary diagnostic criteria.

Please note that a person will not be given a diagnosis of dyslexia if he or she have a low IQ.

The assessment includes:

Assessment of intellectual ability – verbal and non-verbal reasoning, plus working memory and processing speed.

Assessment of phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming)

Functional literacy skill: Untimed and timed reading, single words and connected text, and comprehension. Untimed and timed spelling. Written expression and handwriting skills.

The assessment includes:

Assessment of intellectual ability – verbal and non-verbal reasoning, plus working memory and processing speed.

Assessment of phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming)

Functional literacy skill: Untimed and timed reading, single words and connected text, and comprehension. Untimed and timed spelling. Written expression and handwriting skills.

Successful Interventions

  • Evidence-based
  • Explicitly delivered
  • Cumulative
  • Sequential
  • Repetitive
  • Multi-sensory
  • Systematic
  • Appropriately paced
  • Assessed regularly

Successful interventions do not:

… rely on testimonials, make unsubstantiated claims relating to neuroscience, claim their approach has been assessed ‘in house’ and achieved excellent results (ie: no independent support), link their approach to improved academic outcomes even though there is no academic content.

Please refer to Dyslexia SPELD Foundation for their suggested recommendations of evidence-based programs for intervention.

  • Evidence-based
  • Explicitly delivered
  • Cumulative
  • Sequential
  • Repetitive
  • Multi-sensory
  • Systematic
  • Appropriately paced
  • Assessed regularly

Successful interventions do not:

… rely on testimonials, make unsubstantiated claims relating to neuroscience, claim their approach has been assessed ‘in house’ and achieved excellent results (ie: no independent support), link their approach to improved academic outcomes even though there is no academic content.

Please refer to Dyslexia SPELD Foundation for their suggested recommendations of evidence-based programs for intervention.

Birds flock together. Dyslexia if untreated, can leave one behind.

Sounds-Write Program information

What is the Sounds-Write Program?

Sounds-Write is a linguistic phonics program that starts from what children already know, the sounds of their own language, and teaches in careful steps, how each of the 44 or so phonemes (sounds) can be represented in written English. It is based on teaching the knowledge, conceptual and factual, on which the English alphabet code is based, and the three skills to enable learners to use our code effectively.

Conceptual Knowledge:

  1. Letters re symbols (graphemes) that represent sounds (phonemes).
  2. A phoneme (sound) can be represented by 1, 2, 3 or 4 letters.
  3. One sound can have different spellings.
  4. One spelling can have different sounds.

Factual Knowledge:

It is the ways of representing our speech sounds. We have 26 letters in our alphabet but use around 44 sounds. There are approximately 176 symbols to represent these sounds e.g. one letter one sound – ‘a’ as in cat, two or more letters one sound – ‘ee’ as in tree, ‘igh’ as in light, ‘ough’ as in though.

Skills:

  1. Blending – pushing the sounds together to build a word.
  2. Segmenting – pulling apart individual sounds in words.
  3. Phoneme manipulation – take sounds out and out sounds into words.

Parents can help – this is how:

It is a fact that Dyslexic children can score much higher on tests if allowed extra time. Improvement is also seen when oral testing is conducted.

  • If you must do homework, set aside a time when you can give your child uninterrupted attention as support and make it a time when your child is not tired and is free from distraction and able to focus.
  • Give less complicated instructions and only one at a time.
  • Rather than getting your child, to read to you, you could read to your child so that they get an appreciation for reading for pleasure, enjoyment and enrichment of their vocabulary.
  • Find what your child is good at and support and encourage them to do it often. Then shower them in positives related to it.
  • It is common for Dyslexic children to make excuses to avoid doing things that they at not comfortable with. Make sure you and the teacher look out for things such as:
    o Are they going to the toilet all the time?
    o Are they just pretending to be sick?
    o Are they just doing something else to not have to do that specific task?
  • Keep in regular contact with the school (teachers & support staff who teach your child) ensuring that programs and accommodations are in place and being utilised to best support your child on a daily basis. Does your child need extra time in their tests?
  • Consider if anyone in your family has/had trouble reading, writing or spelling? There may be family history of learning difficulties.
  • Use audiobooks as it helps build background knowledge, comprehension skills and vocabulary.
  • Use technology that is available – some recommended apps that can be used in the classroom include Easy Spelling aid, Claro Scan Pen, Ghotit and Snap type Pro.

It is a fact that Dyslexic children can score much higher on tests if allowed extra time. Improvement is also seen when oral testing is conducted.

  • If you must do homework, set aside a time when you can give your child uninterrupted attention as support and make it a time when your child is not tired and is free from distraction and able to focus.
  • Give less complicated instructions and only one at a time.
  • Rather than getting your child, to read to you, you could read to your child so that they get an appreciation for reading for pleasure, enjoyment and enrichment of their vocabulary.
  • Find what your child is good at and support and encourage them to do it often. Then shower them in positives related to it.
  • It is common for Dyslexic children to make excuses to avoid doing things that they at not comfortable with. Make sure you and the teacher look out for things such as:
    o Are they going to the toilet all the time?
    o Are they just pretending to be sick?
    o Are they just doing something else to not have to do that specific task?
  • Keep in regular contact with the school (teachers & support staff who teach your child) ensuring that programs and accommodations are in place and being utilised to best support your child on a daily basis. Does your child need extra time in their tests?
  • Consider if anyone in your family has/had trouble reading, writing or spelling? There may be family history of learning difficulties.
  • Use audiobooks as it helps build background knowledge, comprehension skills and vocabulary.
  • Use technology that is available – some recommended apps that can be used in the classroom include Easy Spelling aid, Claro Scan Pen, Ghotit and Snap type Pro.

Dyslexia Checklists

Click on the button below for the appropriate PDF checklist that is available to print.

Note: This checklist is for primary school children – generally aged 7-12 years old.

Note: This checklist is for primary school children – generally aged 7-12 years old.