What happens during a dyslexia assessment?

A selection of games I bring to assessments for ‘brain breaks’. Some of these games are becoming quite popular in some schools and classes!

It’s a new school year and, over the next few weeks, you may begin to wonder about getting your child assessed for dyslexia. It can be a daunting thing, and I’ve realised over the last few months that many parents don’t know what actually happens during an assessment.

Whilst it’s great that so many of you put your trust in me to do a good job, I thought it might be helpful to explain a little more about what happens on the day I visit your child in school.

Why do I visit school?

One of the biggest differences between my assessments and those of some larger companies is that I visit children in their own school.

For most young people, this really beneficial. They are in a familiar environment, surrounded by people they know, and can continue with their normal school routine, including breaks, lunchtime and any extra-curricular clubs.

It also means that I can see your child in an environment where they feel comfortable and can have a chat with the adults who know them well. The information I get from teachers and other school staff can be really valuable in helping me understand the whole picture.

What happens during the assessment?

Every assessment is slightly different because every child is different. The information provided by parents and teachers before the assessment helps me decide which areas need to be explored in more detail. A dyslexia assessment isn't simply a test of reading and spelling. It is designed to look at your child's wider learning profile, identifying both their strengths and the areas where they may need support.

Depending on the individual child, I may look at things such as language skills, verbal and non-verbal abilities, memory and processing speed.

Of course, I will also look closely at literacy skills through a series of reading and writing activities. I will explore how your child works with and processes sounds too, which is known as phonological processing. Difficulties with phonological processing are a key sign that a child may have dyslexia.

Although there are lots of different things that I may look at, the activities themselves are usually quite short. They are carefully designed so that we stop when a child reaches the limit of their skills in that particular area. There is no expectation that they should be able to answer everything correctly!

What about breaks?

During the assessment day, we take lots of breaks. There are the usual school breaks and lunchtime, but we also have smaller brain breaks throughout the assessment. These are led by the child and might involve one of the many card and small tabletop games I bring with me.

I also carry a selection of fidgets, which are always available if a child finds them helpful. Children are also very welcome to bring their own fidget if they use one in class.

My aim is for the assessment to feel like a positive and manageable experience rather than a long day of sitting still and answering questions.

And afterwards?

After an assessment day I always make sure a parent has some feedback about how the day went. This might be a quick phone call, e-mail or text to say how your child coped so you know how they might fell once they get home. Over the following two weeks I will pull together all the information teachers, parents and any other adults have shared to provide a comprehensive (and quite long!) report about your child’s learning profile and areas which need further support.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no need for your child to prepare for the assessment. They don't need to practise reading, learn anything in advance or worry about getting the answers “right”.

The assessment is about understanding how they learn — including the things they are already really good at — and identifying what might help them to thrive.