Questions about Child Dyslexia Assessments

What will happen on the day?
Will the test be difficult?
How will my child feel about the assessment?
What will happen after the assessment?
Will I have a written report?
Will there be any recommendations for examinations?
Can I get teaching help for my child?
Will anyone be able to answer my questions before I come for the assessment?
Motor Development & Speech & Language Assessments

What will happen on the day?

You will be met by one of our Psychologists, all of whom are experienced and are trained in working with children, either as assessors or teachers. They will talk to the child and put them at ease, in order to settle them before the assessment commences. Usually parents will be asked to leave so that the child is not influenced by parents making encouraging noises! Parents are welcome to remain in the reception area or usually go and do some shopping and return at an agreed time.
The children will be given a series of tests specifically to look at skills and any potential weaknesses. The Psychologists will be looking for a particular profile or pattern of results that suggest a dyslexic difficulty. If there are any other reasons for reading or spelling problems we will also examine that.
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Will the test be difficult?

Children will have a lot of fun doing the test. The Psychologists are experienced and skilled in encouraging the children and making them at ease. These are not ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ test and children will be reassured as they go through the assessment progress.
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How will my child feel about the assessment?

Please be reassured that children will not be made to feel inadequate in any way. Great care will be taken to maintain their confidence, boost their self-esteem and make the whole experience an enjoyable one!
There will be a break and the Psychologists are very experienced in deciding the right time for both juice and a biscuit!
They will also discuss with the child what they are particularly good at and what they have found in the assessment. This is usually done with parents.
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What will happen after the assessment?

The Psychologist will discuss the results with you and your child (with your permission). For children we will particularly focussing on what they did well on in the assessment. If the child does have a dyslexic difficulty, there can be a sense of relief and the whole assessment procedure can be very positive. Children, in particular, find it helpful to understand that their difficulties are because they are specific and can be helped.
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Will I have a written report?

Yes. You will receive a detailed report of the test results, what they mean and any recommendations for further help. The report is very detailed and will usually be around ten or more pages long. There will be a summary of the results at the beginning of the report and all the specific details of results will also be given. Sometimes these are quite technical, but there is a guide to the report that will explain some of the scoring systems and what the tests mean. The Psychologist will also have gone through this with you during your verbal feedback at the end of the assessment with your child. If you have any questions you can always contact us for further guidance.
There will be a discussion of results, interpretation and recommendations and opinions regarding the learning difficulties.
There will be a detailed guide to the kinds of teaching programmes that will help with a specific learning difficulty. This will include an overview of the approach that is required, as well as attachments and descriptions both in the body of the report and as appendices. Normally two copies of the written report are provided and specific reports for schools or examinations boards can be requested.
The Psychologists have all worked in specialist schools for dyslexic children and are very aware of the teaching techniques and have taught children. Please see full details of the Psychologists.
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Will there be any recommendations for examinations?

Yes. The results are supervised by a Chartered Educational Psychologist who is both registered with the Health Professional Council and recognised as someone who can undertake exam reports. There may be recommendations for extra time, use of laptops and so on for examinations. Our reports will be able to be used by the school examination boards and will be accepted as evidence of any learning difficulties. We will also be able to advise on revision and other techniques prior to examinations, if that is appropriate.
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Can I get teaching help for my child?

Although this is primarily an assessment service we may be able to offer teaching for both children and adults, as an additional service. This would be on a sessional basis. If this were not possible, we can advise on schools, other centres and organisations that do provide the appropriate sessional work.
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Will anyone be able to answer questions before we come for the assessment?

Yes. Contact East Court on 01843 592077.W e will help you in any way we can.
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Motor Development & Speech & Language Assessments

Although the Psychologists currently working at the centre do not offer Speech & Language or Motor Development assessments we have contacts where we can refer for such assessments. Normally these can be undertaken at the centre.
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