A one day conference from the British Dyslexia Association

Information about Screening for Dyslexia

We now offer the following services for screening children and adults for dyslexia:

The LUCID Rapid Screening (age range 4 – 15 years)

This is a computer programme which tests working memory, phonological processing and visual-verbal integration memory (4–7 years) or phonic decoding skills (8-15 years), looking at the areas of difficulty that are most common to dyslexic children. It is a fun process, and the results are available in an easy to understand print-out which gives an indication of the likelihood of dyslexia.

This is a useful tool for parents, who are concerned that their child may be dyslexic, and can provide a starting point for either a more comprehensive assessment for dyslexia, or evidence that the child is unlikely to be dyslexic, so that parents can move on to try and support their child’s learning in a different direction.

The Rapid Screening assessment can be carried out in around 30 minutes. We will also ask for a piece of writing and some background information. We can also test for visual difficulties using coloured overlays if this seems appropriate.

We charge £5 for the screening. If the test leads to your child joining our classes, this £5 will be deducted from the cost of the first class you pay for. If it does identify the likelihood of dyslexia, we will invite you to join our Association (£15 per year) to receive information of our activities and talks.

We also offer a fuller dyslexia screening. This comprises the Rapid Screening assessment outlined above, which is then extended by using further screening software at an age appropriate level. It provides a graphical report and will identify particular strengths and weaknesses. We will take time to explain the report and what can be done to address your child’s difficulties. In some cases a further written report can be provided if required.

This screening is helpful for parents who are trying to negotiate with their school or Local Education Authority for help for their child, as it can provide some ‘ammunition’ for the case for additional learning support. It also helps parents to understand how their child’s difficulties affect their learning, and their behaviour at home and at school, and to identify ways of helping their child.

A full assessment takes around 1.5 hours. For younger children it may be better to do the further testing on a different occasion.

We charge an additional £10 for a full screening (£15 in total) which includes a printout of the test results but would have to charge more (which we will agree with you before we start) if you require a fuller written report.

If any of our charges cause you problems, please discuss that with our Administrator Debbie in confidence before proceeding. If you are unable to afford these small charges, we will do our best to help and provide a subsidy, if our limited funds enable us to do so.

This computer-screening programme is suitable for older students and adults, and gives a swift, objective indication of dyslexia. It takes around 30 minutes to administer and provides an immediate report with automatic interpretation. It tests verbal and non-verbal reasoning, lexical access, phonological processing and working memory. We can also test for visual difficulties using coloured overlays if this seems appropriate.

For adults who are concerned that they may be dyslexic, this is a first step to identifying whether dyslexia is a possible reason for many of the problems that they have experienced through school, and into their adult working life.

We encourage you to consider making a donation to WFDA, if you are able. We are a small charity and rely on the money we raise through fundraising activities and grant applications. We try to keep the cost down so that people are able to afford the help they need but these assessments do cost us a lot more than £5 in terms of computers, software licences and time of the people delivering the test.

If the screening carried out indicates that your child is dyslexic, it may be that you would like to arrange additional classes for them outside of school. We offer low cost literacy, handwriting and numeracy support in small groups, for dyslexic children. If you would be interested in this, please let our Administrator know (details at the bottom of this sheet). We keep a waiting list for our classes, and children are placed as appropriately and sensitively as possible, with children who have a similar level of need.

All our classes are run by qualified dyslexia teachers, and we have volunteer help in some groups from teachers and classroom assistants who are interested in developing their knowledge and experience of working with dyslexic children.

Waltham Forest Dyslexia Association is a registered charity, and all our activities are possible only through grant funding, fundraising, donations, and the contributions that parents make through the fees that we charge for classes.

Please contact our Administrator, Debbie Marshall on 078522 32509 or email Debbie.m@wfda.org.uk.

Please note that there is a waiting list for screening and we only work on Monday evenings during term-time. It may be possible to arrange other times by appointment. It would be helpful if you would bring a photocopy (that you can leave with us) of any previous assessments, IEPs or statements for your child, which will be confidentially stored and passed on to our dyslexia teachers if you wish to join one of our classes.