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Dyslexia Child Assessments

Expert diagnosis from our Canterbury Dyslexia Centre
Tel 0770 3724534
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Dyslexia Child Assessments

Expert diagnosis from our Canterbury Dyslexia Centre
Tel 0770 3724534
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dyslexia Identification Child Assessment in Canterbury

Child Assessment

(8 – 15 yrs) Face to Face or Remote/Online

From the age of approximately 8 yrs a dyslexic profile can be identified. There is some leeway if waiting until then would be detrimental to the child. In addition, if there is family history of dyslexia and school concerns, in particular ongoing support is in place, but the child is still experiencing unexpected difficulties.

The assessment takes around 2 hours; however, the tasks are short, varied and interesting enough to ensure a generally enjoyable experience. A range of cognitive ability and attainment tasks are delivered to for a detailed investigation of the child’s profile, strengths and weaknesses.

Diagnosis & Written Report

A formal diagnosis and follow up written report meets the requirements set out by the DfES Working Group which requires the assessor to hold a current Practising Certificate issued by one of the professional bodies – British Psychological Society, PATOSS or Dyslexia Action. The assessment report meets SASC (Specific Learning Difficulties Assessment Standards Committee) guidelines and provides clear, actionable recommendations.

Dyslexia Identification Assessments in Canterbury

Access to fidgets during the assessment can result in creative masterpieces!

Indicators of Dyslexia for a child

(British Dyslexia Association)

If a child has several of these indicators, further investigation should be made. The child may be dyslexic, or there may be other reasons. This is not a checklist.

Persisting factors

There are many persisting factors in dyslexia, which can appear from an early age. They will still be noticeable when the dyslexic child leaves school.

  • Obvious ‘good’ and ‘bad’ days, for no apparent reason
  • Confusion between directional words, e.g. up/down, in/out
  • Difficulty with sequence, e.g. coloured bead sequence, later with days of the week or numbers
  • A family history of dyslexia/reading difficulties

Pre-school

  • Has persistent jumbled phrases, e.g. ‘cobbler’s club’ for ‘toddler’s club’
  • Use of substitute words e.g. ‘lampshade’ for ‘lamppost’
  • Inability to remember the label for known objects, e.g. ‘table, chair’
  • Difficulty learning nursery rhymes and rhyming words, e.g. ‘cat, mat, sat’
  • Later than expected speech development

Pre-school non-language indicators

  • May have walked early but did not crawl – was a ‘bottom shuffler’ or ‘tummy wriggler’
  • Persistent difficulties in getting dressed efficiently and putting shoes on the correct feet
  • Enjoys being read to but shows no interest in letters or words
  • Is often accused of not listening or paying attention
  • Excessive tripping, bumping into things and falling over
  • Difficulty with catching, kicking or throwing a ball; with hopping and/or skipping
  • Difficulty with clapping a simple rhythm

Primary school age

  • Has particular difficulty with reading and spelling
  • Puts letters and figures the wrong way round
  • Has difficulty remembering tables, alphabet, formulae etc
  • Leaves letters out of words or puts them in the wrong order
  • Still occasionally confuses ‘b’ and ‘d’ and words such as ‘no/on’
  • Still needs to use fingers or marks on paper to make simple calculations
  • Poor concentration
  • Has problems understanding what he/she has read
  • Takes longer than average to do written work
  • Problems processing language at speed

Primary school age non-language indicators

  • Has difficulty with tying shoe laces, tie, dressing
  • Has difficulty telling left from right, order of days of the week, months of the year etc
  • Surprises you because in other ways he/she is bright and alert
  • Has a poor sense of direction and still confuses left and right
  • Lacks confidence and has a poor self image