Diagnosis

If you suspect that your child may be dyslexic and would benefit from additional support then your first step should be to consult your child's teacher or the school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) to discuss your concerns.

The SENCo may decide to carry out screening tests or checklists to find out more about your child's areas of strength and weakness in order to see how best they can be supported in the classroom. This support is called SEN Support.

A school doesn't need a formal diagnosis to put support in place for your child and shouldn't delay in providing appropriate support and/or interventions. However, a Diagnostic Assessment can help to ensure that the appropriate interventions are put in place.

Diagnostic Assessment

The only way dyslexia can be formally diagnosed is through a Diagnostic Assessment carried out by a certified dyslexia assessor. This assessment will tell you if your child is dyslexic or not. You will receive a detailed report outlining areas of strengths and weaknesses and a clearer idea of your child's cognitive profile and how best to support them.

The aim of the assessment aim is:

• To highlight the young person’s individual style of learning or working and what does/doesn’t work for them
• To collect information about reading, spelling and writing skills
• To identify whether there is a clear discrepancy between general level of ability, and reading and writing attainment
• To consider other factors which may be affecting learning
• To identify whether any Reasonable Adjustments will need to be made in order for a young person to fully access the curriculum and exams

Through consultation with the school's SENCo these assessments can either be requested by the school, or you can arrange and pay for an assessment privately.

The British Dyslexia Association can offer advice, and arrange Diagnostic Assessments. Find out more on the BDA Assessment webpage.