What happens during a dyslexia assessment?

I aim to arrive at the school by for a 9am start, although this does depend on the structure of the school day.

I spend a bit of time getting to know the student and asking about their experiences of school and learning as this can provide important information for the report.

I don’t always do the same assessments with each child and I don’t always do them in the same order, every child is different and the background information from school and parent provides useful information about where to start.

I try to mix up the tasks so that we don’t spend too long on any area, so I will alternate between different types of task. Sometimes i will let the young person choose the order of the tasks too to try to give them a bit of ownership.

Many of the assessment tasks are designed to feel like games which helps.

I always allow the students to have their usual breaks and encourage them to have some water with them in case they need a drink.

The process usually lasts between 2 and 3 hours.