I offer in-person assessments across age ranges (from age 7 to adult) and remote assessments via Microsoft Teams to persons aged 12+.

• Ensure your child has had an eye test in the past 12 months.

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• Your views as a parent and those of the young person are crucial to this process and any assessment would be preceded by a detailed questionnaire and discussion with you. You will be asked to fill in and return a pre-assessment Parent Questionnaire and a Visual Difficulties Questionnaire I will email you. ​

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• Consult with your child’s class teacher and SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) to find out if your child is already receiving intervention or extra support.

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• Tell your child they are going to see someone who is interested in how people learn. The assessment will help to work out why some learning is difficult and what might help to make things easier.

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 Documents you will be asked to share with me

• A copy of your child’s last school report

• A copy of any previous specialist assessments

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 The role of the School

• Your child’s teacher(s) or SENCo will be asked to complete a School Questionnaire I will email to them.  If more information is needed I will follow up with a phone conversation.

• You will receive a comprehensive written diagnostic report one week after the assessment via email. The report will be password-protected for confidentiality and the password will be sent separately. 

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• If the assessment confirms that the young person has dyslexia, this report will provide formal evidence of the diagnosis. Where necessary, it will signpost to other organisations or further assessments for specific learning difficulties (if required). 

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• The report will include recommendations about how to support the young person in the context of their education (school) and study skills (home). It is a legal document that can be used to support an application for Access Arrangements.

• A summary of key findings from the assessment and background information from home, school and/or other agencies

• Detailed interpretation of test results, including:

• General Underlying Ability: verbal and non verbal ability

• Acadmic achievement: reading, spelling, writing, and handwriting 

• Cognitive processing: memory, phonological skills, and processing speed

• Conclusion – a holistic view of assessment findings 

• Table of test scores 

• Key recommendations for supporting the learner in the following areas: 

• Home environment 

• Classroom environment 

• Access arrangements in exams (if appropriate) 

• Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), if appropriate. 

The aim of a full diagnostic assessment is to help your child understand how they learn best. Dyslexia is a spectrum, every dyslexic child falls on different points on that spectrum depending on their specific skills, aptitudes and challenges. A dyslexia assessment looks at a wide range of different skills (cognitive, visuospatial, verbal, non-verbal, motor, memory, processing speed etc.) to build a personalised learning profile. The aim is to help your child understand the reason for their difficulties and as a result, with appropriate support, start to understand what they can do to move forwards with greater confidence, using strategies for learning that work specifically for them.

If your child is experiencing significant difficulties in their studies in school or at home, a diagnostic assessment can help you clarify what these difficulties are and support you and their teachers with strategies for learning. It helps your child understand why they are experiencing difficulties and can help them to see themselves in a new, positive light. It is the only way you can receive a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and it can support an application for reasonable adjustments in formal examinations in school and university.

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You can find some more information about Specific Learning Difficulties) SpLDs here. 

A full diagnostic assessment for a specific learning difficulty (which includes dyslexia) undertaken at any age lasts a lifetime. It is a legal document which can be used to support an application for Access Arrangements during your child's time in school, an application for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) when they transition to university, and reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

• Assessment can help your child understand how they learn best. This isn’t an exam so there is no “pass” or “fail” - the intention is to help your child understand their individual style of learning or working and what does/doesn’t work for them.

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• It can help your child understand why they are experiencing difficulties and enable them to see themselves in a new, positive light. 

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• It can help identify other factors which may be affecting your child's learning and signpost to appropriate professionals for further support.

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• It will highlight whether any Reasonable Adjustments will need to be made for your child to fully access the curriculum and exams. 

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• It will provide specific recommendations for support with learning in the classroom and at home.

There is usually an informal chat with the young person at the start of the assessment to gather a little more background information. A Full Diagnostic Assessment will usually take up to 3 hours to complete. The young person will be offered short breaks as needed to ensure they stay comfortable and focused. 

On the day of the assessment, your child will need to bring along a pen, glasses if appropriate, or any coloured overlay if normally used.

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During a dyslexia assessment I will carry out a series of standardised tests to explore areas such as: 

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• reading, writing and spelling 

• handwriting and fine motor skills 

• cognitive skills including phonological awareness, speed of processing and memory

• general underlying ability, including verbal and visual skills

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During a dyscalculia assessment we measure performance in areas like: 

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• maths fact retrieval

• numeric and spatial memory

• perceptual estimation skills

• linguistic maths concepts

• core number sense development

After the assessment I may be able to provide some insight, but I will need time to calculate the test scores and analyse the results to give a diagnosis. This information will be provided in the subsequent report.

• Upon release of the report, I will offer a follow up phone call or meeting to ensure that you can ask any questions or clarify information.

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• I will give an overview of some of the key aspects of the report, explain the findings and next steps and provide advice on how the school might help your child in their learning as well as recommend methods and strategies to help them learn more effectively at home. 

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• Strategies may include teaching approaches, study skills and advice about resources/programs for additional support.

A full diagnostic assessment is appropriate from age 7 through to adulthood. Where there are concerns about younger children and especially if there is a history of dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties in the family, an early dyslexia screening is recommended. This can give an indication of possible dyslexic-type difficulties and suggest what support needs to be put in place in school and at home for the child to catch up.

Please note a dyslexia screening is designed to give an indication of possible dyslexic-type difficulties. It is not a diagnosis.

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Where an early screening test indicates a moderate or high probability of dyslexic-type difficulties, it is recommended to follow up with a full diagnostic assessment at the age of 7. It is important to identify dyslexia early to allow the child more time to develop compensatory strategies to meet individual challenges. 

I recommend that parents consult with their child’s class teacher(s) and/or SENCo about their concerns before seeking a formal assessment. You may find that your school is already providing extra support for your child. A Diagnostic Assessment is not needed in order for extra support to be provided. However, dyslexia can only be formally identified through a Diagnostic Assessment.

If you need the assessment to apply for Exam Access Arrangements at school (usually GCSEs or A’ levels) you will need to contact the school SENCo (Special Educational Needs co-ordinator) prior to the assessment. Then I will work with the school or college to support your application. This is a JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) requirement. 

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Please note it is not necessary to have a full diagnostic assessment for Exam Access Arrangements and your SENCo will advise you.