DYSLEXIA ADULTS
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Secretary: John Bradford 
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Dyslexia testing and
assessment. Where
can I get a test for dyslexia? There
are two types of tests for dyslexia: screening tests and comprehensive
tests.
Screening tests.
These tests are designed to be
used on very large numbers of students, to narrow down the group who might need
a more thorough test for possible dyslexia. They are not tests for dyslexia, but
are designed to help researchers focus on students who appear to be having difficulties
with their studies, and who might be dyslexic.
Typically, these tests
consist of a short list of questions, such as:
-
Do you have difficulties with spelling?
-
Do you find directions confusing?
-
Were you reluctant to go to school?
-
Do you have problems with math/s?
Students
selected by this method could be having problems with their learning for any number
of reasons - emotional problems, Attention Deficit (ADHD), delayed learning, autism,
dyspraxia, and possible dyslexia. Screening tests like these cannot be seen as
valid tests for dyslexia, but they are very helpful for researchers.
Comprehensive tests.
Comprehensive tests for Dyslexia look at the whole person and examine the root
cause of any learning difficulties in the light of research into dyslexia and
its causes. The word 'comprehensive' means 'thorough', and these tests examine
which brain functions are interfering with a person's acquisition of normal learning.
Tests of reading, spelling, comprehension, and intelligence are given, as well
as visual tests, laterality tests, visual scanning tests, sequencing, reversals
and other tests.
The results are assembled into a complete report on the person,
which outlines the evidence for the conclusions reached .
A comprehensive
dyslexia test may be administered in two ways, either by a psychologist
or at a distance.
Comprehensive testing by a psychologist.
Chartered psychologists operate either through schools and colleges or privately
in a consulting room.
You may see a psychologist in your college if the special
needs department recommends it. The psychologist has to be paid by the college,
and there are constrains on the amount of money that is available for psychological
testing. The college may say that you will have to pay for a psychological assessment
yourself
Assessment by a psychologist - if one is available - seems to be
the method that works for the majority of people, though we do receive a lot of
e-mails from people who are dissatisfied with the process. More than one has reported
that the psychologist denied that dyslexia existed!
Some people seek
a private assessment by a psychologist. Although expensive, this is more straightforward.
A lot of people report having paid a thousand dollars and upwards for a private
assessment, but the costs seem to vary from one country to another. The assessment
takes a few hours, and you should expect to receive a detailed report, to be shown
to the principal when asking for extra consideration or extra time in examinations.
Although assessments are thorough, few psychologists provide detailed recommendations
for improving a person's learning techniques.
 Comprehensive
testing at a distance.
An alternative is comprehensive dyslexia testing
at a distance. This has the advantage of improved objectivity: the psychologist
remains completely objective about the child's performance in all the tests, as
he/she never meets the person, but bases the assessment purely on the test results.
The tests used are very similar to those used by psychologists in schools or privately,
but have been adapted so that they can be used by adults at home. This type of
test produces a more detailed assessment report than a psychologist normally provides,
and contains detailed recommendations for learning techniques that will help the
person raise their achievement level. Typically, a test like this costs only a
fraction of the cost of an assessment by a psychologist.
Juliet Freud.
May
1990.
Mail Order Dyslexia Testing.
Daniel Willemin writes
about his experience of taking a distance dyslexia test.
Paying for assessments (UK).
Sylvia
Moody writes about ways of funding an
assessment for dyslexia in the UK. | |
