You should contact your nearest
Dyslexia Action Centre who will be able to take care of all the arrangements for you.
It is always a good idea to discuss your concerns with your child’s class teacher first. You can also arrange an appointment with the schools SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), who you can ask to investigate your concerns and discuss whether they feel a referral to a Local Authority psychologist or other support teacher for an assessment is necessary.
If you do decide to have your child independently assessed then it can be beneficial to maintain a good dialog with the school and, if appropriate, that they are involved in the process as much as possible. However, it is your choice whether or not to involve the school or other third parties.
There is available information to help parents address their queries and concerns about the processing of their children’s special educational needs within their local authority a good website for general advice and support is provided by
IPSEA. More information about the SEN Code of Practice can be found by
clicking here.
For information on how to appeal local authorities’ decisions concerning provision of statements of Special Educational Needs
click here
Firstly you will be asked to complete a questionnaire which can be downloaded and printed from here. This will provide some background information about yourself / your child. If you are the parent of a child being assessed you may also need to ask your child’s school to complete a questionnaire.
The assessment lasts up to 2 hours during which time the psychologist or specialist teacher will conduct a series of different tests that give the assessor a full picture of strengths and weaknesses specific to the individual and their chronological age.
These include tests, for example, for: spelling and reading, verbal reasoning (understanding), comprehension, memory, processing speed, phonological awareness (sound knowledge), maths, writing speed and more.
The assessor should be able to offer you a conclusive evaluation of their key findings at the end of the assessment but a full report will be completed that will detail all results and outcomes.
You should receive a full written report within 3 weeks following the assessment. If your assessment has been paid for by your employer both you and your employer will receive reports. No confidential information of a personal nature will be included in the report that is sent to your employer.
It is important that you have the opportunity to discuss the findings of the assessment with either the assessor or a professional who can offer you further advice and guidance. Included in the cost of your assessment is a half hour post assessment consultation with the Centre Principal or Senior Teacher.
The assessment will provide in depth information about your child’s strengths and weaknesses in connection with the difficulties they are experiencing and is the first step in providing diagnostic information that will be useful for your child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and support systems.
The information may also be useful for consideration of eligibility for
examination access arrangements and
Disabled Students’ Allowance.
If the assessment indicates that the subject would benefit from specialist support the assessor will advise on what in their professional opinion will best address the needs of the individual. Dyslexia Action offers support services for individual of all ages and as such you can either discuss this at your consultation appointment or contact your
local Centre to find out more.
It is important to be aware that while you may suspect dyslexia there are a large number of reasons why someone might have difficulties with literacy and/or present some of the other difficulties associated with dyslexia.
Tuition sessions with our specialist dyslexia teachers can be arranged in small groups or alone. Teaching is designed for the individual and aims to boost skills levels as well as building confidence and self-esteem.
Our Tuition is not solely for children and young people, many adults can benefit from our specialist teaching and support. In some cases your employer may pay for this provision.
You can discuss your requirements, based on the results of the assessment, with the centre principal or senior teacher.
If you have concerns about the costs of tuition then ask the centre staff about our bursary fund which, depending on your circumstances, can help with payments. The bursary is a limited fund and is awarded on the basis of individual need.
Dyslexia Action has developed a number of resources that can be used by teachers or at home to help develop literacy skills.
DIY Readers Support pack
A significant number of people we assess are found not to be dyslexic and therefore the individual/parent should be aware that they/their child may not be dyslexic.
All of the pyschologists that work for Dyslexia Action are consultants and they are not direct employees of Dyslexia Action. This means that the assessor is independent and the outcome of the assessment and any further recommendations will be based on the assessor's individual professional opinion. They will provide a detailed profile of strengths and weaknesses and provide advice on ways to cope with your difficulties no matter what the cause.
There is no government funding available for any of our services, and in most cases, payment is down to the individual, or parents in case of children.
Employers will sometimes refer and pay for their staff. In the case of children, it is rare for schools to provide funding. Universities and Colleges can sometimes help in the case of students in FE/HE. Occasionally you may get an assessment funded by your GP.
Dyslexia Action offers funding, in certain cases, from our bursary; however this is limited and is on the basis of individual need. Ask your centre principal for details.
Local Trusts and other bursaries such as Round Table, Rotarians or Bupa are also worth contacting.
Some regulatory bodies require updated assessment information, for example eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance. Also, review assessments are useful to make judgements on rate of improvement and response to support programmes.
In particular, young children’s development can change relatively rapidly and therefore their current strengths and weaknesses need to be appraised to ensure that support being given is relevant.
Speak to your
local Dyslexia Action Centre and ask, based on your individual circumstance, how we can help you.