If dyslexia is not detected early on, it can cause a child to struggle in the classroom, fall behind their peers, and experience frustration, leading to low self-esteem and lack of confidence. However, with Dyslexia testing, the therapist can offer the right coping strategies that will enable your child to achieve their full potential.
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference, which impacts reading, spelling, and writing skills. A trained expert is usually the one who undertakes a comprehensive evaluation of dyslexia. Testing includes oral language skills, intelligence, and checks for hearing and visual impairment.
If dyslexia is not detected early on, it can cause a child to struggle in the classroom, fall behind their peers, and experience frustration, leading to low self-esteem and lack of confidence. However, with Dyslexia testing, the therapist can offer the right coping strategies that will enable your child to achieve their full potential.
How to Spot Dyslexia?
Firstly, you need to understand that no two individuals with dyslexia will experience the same severity of symptoms.
A child with phonological dyslexia generally struggles with reading and writing because of difficulty breaking down words into their component sounds. This impact decoding and encoding skills.
Their reading out loud or recognition of familiar vocabulary can be poor. A dyslexic child may take longer to get through a text, may need to read a sentence multiple times, and can have trouble understanding what they've read.
A child with dyslexia is often inconsistent with spelling skills. They may spell a word wrong even after learning too many times.
They may struggle to get the right set of letters in the correct order. A dyslexic child is more likely to reverse letters, and there may be a difference between the size of their spoken and written vocabulary.
Diagnostic Testing:
This type of dyslexia testing involves many different measures, taking up several hours to administer for children. Every evaluation will be different. Thus, you should request an overview of the process before you start so you know which tests will be used and what to expect.
Keep in mind that test instruments will be age-appropriate, meaning they will differ from children and adults. As most dyslexia is hereditary, you may be asked to provide an in-depth family history.
What Happens After Testing?
It often takes a few weeks to get the results of a comprehensive evaluation - performance on multiple tests needs to be measured, calibrated against age and grade-level. The test is also compared with an observation from parents and teachers, as well as the therapist.
You should request a follow-up meeting and bring up questions you might have if you haven't had the opportunity to discuss the results. The evaluation will tell you if there is a low, medium, or high chance that your child is dyslexic. It will also likely reveal which areas are most affected, making it easier to put together an action plan to help your child get the support they need.
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