Dyslexia - Diagnosing dyslexia

The earlier a child with dyslexia is diagnosed, the more effective their treatment is likely to be.

In practice, however, identifying dyslexia in younger children can be difficult for both parents and teachers, because the signs and symptoms are not always obvious.

Many children, including younger children, also develop ways to compensate for their dyslexia, such as relying on their long-term memory more than is usual, or by "picturing" the whole word.

If you are worried about your child

If you are concerned about your child’s progress with reading and writing, first talk to their teacher. You may also want to meet with other staff in the school.

If the concern continues, take your child to visit a GP. It may be that your child has health problems not connected to dyslexia that are affecting their ability to read or write. For example, they may have:

• vision problems, such as short-sightedness or a squint
• hearing problems, as the result of a condition such as glue ear
• other conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

If your child does not have any obvious underlying health problems to explain their learning difficulties, it may be that they are not responding very well to the teaching method, and a different approach may be needed.

Read about treating dyslexia for more information about educational interventions for children with dyslexia.

Assessments

If there are still concerns about your child’s progress after they have received additional teaching and support, a more in-depth assessment may be recommended.

The assessment will be carried out by an educational psychologist or appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher, who will be able to support yourself, your child and your child's teacher. They will try to improve your understanding of the child’s learning difficulties and suggest targeted support.

An educational psychologist specialises in assisting children who have problems progressing with their education as a result of emotional, psychological, cognitive (learning) or behavioural issues.

Requesting an assessment

There are various ways to request an assessment for your child, although it can sometimes be a time-consuming and frustrating process.

The first step is to meet your child’s teacher and their school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). A SENCO is a teacher who is responsible for special educational needs within a school. All schools have a SENCO, and they work with other teachers and parents to ensure the needs of pupils with special educational needs are properly met.

At the meeting, you can discuss your concerns and interventions that have been tried already. The first step is to ensure appropriate interventions for your child are being taken by the school. If your child continues to have difficulties after these interventions, you can ask for them to be referred for assessment and advice by a local educational authority (LEA) educational psychologist or other specialist in dyslexia.

If your child’s teacher and the SENCO do not agree that an assessment is appropriate or required, you have other options. You can challenge the decision and request your child is formally assessed through the statutory assessment process by contacting the special needs department of your LEA directly.

The Independent Parental Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is an independent charity for parents of children with special needs. Their website contains information about steps you can take to have the educational needs of your child assessed, as well as advice about how to appeal a decision and arrange an assessment with your LEA.

Alternatively, you can arrange to have your child assessed by an independent educational psychologist or another suitably qualified professional. You can do this by contacting an educational psychologist directly. You can find a directory of chartered psychologists on the British Psychological Society's website.

You can also visit the Dyslexia Action website for help arranging an assessment. Dyslexia Action is a national organisation for people with dyslexia, and it can arrange appointments with psychologists who have a special interest in dyslexia. Find your nearest Dyslexia Action Centre.

Dyslexia Action centres will charge for the assessment. The costs varies slightly from centre to centre, but is usually in the region of £300-£500.

The assessment procedure

Before the assessment takes place, you and your child’s school may be sent a questionnaire that asks about your child and related issues, such as their general state of health, how well they perform certain tasks and what you think needs to change.

Various different assessment methods may be used, but all involve your child taking part in a series of tests and observing them in their learning environment, as well as talking with key adults involved with your child’s learning. The tests are not limited to your child’s reading and writing abilities; they also examine other skills, including:

• language development vocabulary
• logical reasoning
• memory
• the speed they can process visual and auditory (sound) information
• organisational skills
• approaches to learning

Dyslexia can usually be confidently diagnosed if a child's reading and writing skills are poorly developed despite the use of appropriate teaching methods and the child's other abilities, such as their understanding of logic or their verbal skills, are unaffected.

After your child has been assessed, you will receive a report that outlines their strengths and weaknesses, with recommendations of what could be done to improve areas they are having difficulties with. Understanding what your child is good at and what they enjoy is an important step in developing an educational plan that tackles their weaknesses.

Depending on the severity of your child’s learning difficulties, it may be possible for your child’s literacy difficulties to be managed through a specific action plan drawn up for them and undertaken by their school. If this is the way forward, an individual education plan (IEP) will be drawn up for your child, that will be reviewed with you and your child each term.

In a small number of cases, where a child’s difficulties do not improve and progress does not seem to be made, despite appropriate interventions from the school, you may want to request a fuller assessment that covers all aspects of your child’s development.

This would result in a more formal, legally binding educational plan being drawn up for your child, usually known as a Statement of Special Education Needs (SEN) – in September 2014, this will change to an Education Healthcare Plan (EHC). If this level of intervention is considered necessary, it will set out what your child’s educational needs are and the support required to meet those needs in a document that is reviewed formally every year.

See the GOV.UK website for more information about children with special educational needs (SEN).

Assessment in adults

If you are an adult and think you may have dyslexia or a related difficulty that has not been identified, you can also arrange to have an assessment through your local Dyslexia Action Centre.

Employers, colleges and universities may make a contribution to cover some or all of the cost of this assessment. However, this is at their discretion, and they have no legal obligation to fund the costs of your assessment.