Dyslexia Test - Things Everyone Should Know About Testing

#1. There is No Single Test for Dyslexia

Because there is no single test for dyslexia, it's not uncommon for there to be some confusion over whether a child has or doesn't have dyslexia, whether an adult has outgrown dyslexia, etc. Dyslexia is a clinical diagnosis, meaning that a professional should conduct a comprehensive assessment and that signs and symptoms of dyslexia should be identified as being present or absent.

From the International Dyslexia Association:

The following elements should be included in an assessment for dyslexia:

1) a developmental, medical, behavioral, academic and family history,

2) a measure of general intellectual functioning

3) information on cognitive processing (language, memory, auditory processing, visual processing, visual motor integration, reasoning abilities, and executive functioning),

4) tests of specific oral language skills related to reading and writing success to include tests of phonological processing,

5) educational tests to determine level of functioning in basic skill areas of reading, spelling, written language, and math -- testing in reading/writing should include the following measures:

- single word decoding of both real and nonsense words,

- oral and silent reading in context (evaluate rate, fluency, comprehension and accuracy),

- reading comprehension,

- dictated spelling test,

- written expression: sentence writing as well as story or essay writing,

- handwriting,

6) a classroom observation, and a review of the language arts curriculum for the school-aged child to assess remediation programs which have been tried.

Practically speaking, many assessments fall quite short of this ideal.

From the Adult Dyslexia Checklist, for instance, only the following questions are asked:

To score questions #1-10, use the following point system-

For #1: Rarely (3) Occasionally (6), Often (9), Most of the Time (12)

#2: Rarely (2), Occasionally (4), Often (6), Most of the Time (8)

#3-10: Rarely (1), Occasionally (2), Often (3), Most of the Time (4)

1. Do you confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot?

2. Do you lose your place or miss out lines when reading?

3. Do you confuse the names of objects, for example table for chair?

4. Do you have trouble telling left from right?

5. Is map reading or finding your way to a strange place confusing?

6. Do you re-read paragraphs to understand them?

7. Do you get confused when given several instructions at once?

8. Do you make mistakes when taking down telephone messages?

9. Do you find it difficult to find the right word to say?

10. How often do you think of creative solutions to problems?

For scoring #11-15:

#11: Easy (3), Challenging (6), Difficult (9), Very Difficult (12)

#12-13: Easy(2), Challenging (4), Difficult (6), Very Difficult (8)

#14-15: Easy (1), Challenging (2), Difficult (3), Very Difficult (4)

11. How easy do you find it to sound out words such as e-le-phant?

12. When writing, do you find it difficult to organize thoughts on paper?

13. Did you learn your multiplications tables easily?

14. How easy do you find it to recite the alphabet?

15. How hard do you find it to read aloud?

Score less than 45: Probably non-dyslexic.

Score 45-60: Showing signs consistent with mild dyslexia

Greater than 60: Showing signs consistent with moderate or severe dyslexia

(Ian Smythe and John Everatt, 2001)

#2. Dyslexia is Often Under-Recognized

Because dyslexia tends to run in families, a family member may recognize signs of dyslexia before it is suggested by a teacher, school, or other outside professional. Students may be mislabeled as "bright but underachieving", lazy, or having ADD. Because of limited resources in public schools, testing may often be focused rather than comprehensive.

#3. There are Benefits to a Formal Comprehensive Diagnosis of Dyslexia

Although there are some voices arguing for RTI or Response to Intervention instead of making a formal diagnosis of dyslexia, we believe a formal diagnosis is much more valuable, helping people obtain appropriate educational accommodations (for example, many students are most appropriately placed in gifted programs because of their high intelligence, but may need accommodations in writing or reading), helping them to students and adults to understand their learning differences and personal wiring, and finally, allowing them to see themselves in context with others who have been along the dyslexia journey - to learn from their experiences and tips, and to learn from the latest research.

Our preference in our clinic is to use the most well established approach to diagnosing specific learning disabilities - determination of the presence or absence of an ability-achievement discrepancy. Ability-achievement discrepancy has come under some more recently who suggest that it may still not distinguish students who haven't had sufficient exposure to the right teaching methods, or other environmental deprivation, but it has been the method of diagnosis most readily accepted by the College Board for college and graduate school entrance exams. In the lower grades, ability-achievement discrepancy can be very valuable because we often find young dyslexics are not recognized for their high intelligence and problem solving abilities. If test scores help parents and teachers see a child a different way - and for the better, then we think we're on the right track. For those who are interested, the most common tests we use are the WISC-IV / WAIS-IV, WIAT-III, and selected subtests from the WJCogATIII and PEEX2/PEERAMID. For 9th through graduate school ages, we also administer the Nelson Denny Reading Test.

What were your experiences with testing? Please leave a comment on this thread, and thanks!!

Tags: accommodations, assessment, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyslexia test, dyslexic, symptoms of dyslexia, test, testing, More…testing for dyslexia, tests

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Comment by Luiza on June 23, 2011 at 11:08am: Hi Tanner, I am sorry to hear that it has been so difficult to find a doc who identifies your son's dyslexia. Been There Done That, unfortunately. And in my experience having a child's dyslexia identified by doctors is really, really helpful. If you've read my earlier post, you'll know that despite my best efforts, my daughter's dyslexia was identified only after she graduated High School. I don't know any names to refer you to in the Atlanta area. But I can tell you that Fernette and Brock Eide are the docs who identified my daughter's dyslexia. We live across the country from the Eides. While we are in upstate NY, they are in Seattle. But I am really glad that we made the trip across the country to see the Eides. Their report was very comprehensive and helpful. They identified my daughter's dyslexia and her giftedness.

Comment by Tanner Figa on June 23, 2011 at 7:09am: I have to say that I feel beaten by the entire process...I have known since first grade that my gifted son has dyslexia. He has had every classic symptom. The only problem is that he is so smart and can compensate so well, that the ability-achievement discrepancy isn't big enough for anyone to pay attention. Had him tested in first grade--where visual motor integration problems were the only thing that would show up (along with giftedness.) This was in spite of making sure that I went to a psychologist who had a dual doctorate in gifted education and school psychology. Spent second grade doing OT and also did three months of Vision Therapy (which helped tremendously--but not completely.) After third grade, we revisited the testing, and the gap was growing, but he was still left without a formal diagnosis--only the written reference by the psychologist of Steath Dyslexia, along with an explanation and a recommendation for RTI. Now at the end of fourth grade, with his continued problems and falling grades, we had further testing done by a neuropsychologist (qEEG) and he has been diagnosed with AD/HD. I am not debating the AD/HD, but why can't I get anyone to see what is soooooo obvious?! My child has dyslexia. There is no question in my mind. It doesn't seem to matter that I have had every exhaustive test done...I'm not sure what to do now...I've been trying to help my son for four years. I'm doing everything I know to do. Fortunately my son understands that he is bright and that his particular issues come with amazing gifts. But he still doesn't have the accommodations and support he needs at school...It seems like everyone just wants to wait until my child hits the wall, fails, and feels worse and worse about himself in that environment.

If anyone can tell me where to go in the Atlanta area to get help with a twice exceptional child, I would be more than happy to hear about it! I just want him to have access to the accommodations he needs as he progresses through school so he can experience success.

Thanks for listening...I know I was venting...Sorry.

Comment by Eric McCormick on April 29, 2011 at 10:29am: I am very glad to see thing changing with time. When I was tested in the late 1970's, they had no concept of what the results meant. I was given some rather comprehensive tests, but no formal diagnosis was given. When I was tested as a adult, just a year ago, I was seen as having contradictory results that made a full diagnosis difficult, but there was a large enough disparity in working memory that I legally qualified as learning disabled.

I think that all children should go through comprehensive testing. This is for many reasons but here are a few of them. First and foremost, all young children need to feel the same. The line between "special" and "different" is very small for young children, and "special" can be seen as good, but "different" can be seen as bad. By having all children tested, this becomes a normal part of the child's life and has no social impact. Second, comprehensive testing can catch a wider range of issues than the basic tests. Third, test results could help schools discover their weak point and allow for them to adjust to the needs of their students. In this way, testing would help all students and not just ones with special challenges. Fourth, the children that do face those additional challenges would have a far greater chance of succeeding because the issues would be identified earlier and methods for working with the problems would be ingrained earlier, allowing the most active learning years to be as productive as possible.

Along with this, there needs to be greater understanding. A disability does not mean people can't do something. It means that the issue needs to be approached differently. A person who has no legs can not drive a regular car, but with the addition of hand controls, they can drive. The same principals apply to people with learning disabilities. Just because a person has troubles in one or more areas does not mean that they can not learn. It just means that a few changes are needed so that they do learn and they do reach the potentials that they posses.

In my case, I failed English in Jr. High. It was only the "understanding" of the school that adjusted my grade enough to let me move on. I got out of High School OK, nothing great, a few bad, and a few good points. But when I tried college for what I wanted, I failed because the professor required hand written notes. I can not produce the quality of notes he wanted. It is called dysgraphia and it is impossible for me to make neat, hand written notes. So I gave up on college.

Now I am back in school, over twenty years later. I am maintaining a 4.0 average, which includes having taken "Freshman Composition" and "Intermediate Composition and Critical Thinking." In other words, I have gotten straight As, including subjects I failed at as a child. So the question becomes, what is different.

Most of the change is that I do not have to rely on hand written notes and I can use a word processor to deal with my writing issues. Another huge difference is that I can research teachers and take ones that teach in the ways that I learn. This gets me a deeper understanding of the subjects at hand as well as letting me produce high quality work.

This is why I feel very strongly that earlier identification is critical. It lets a child be taught a little differently. Problems should not be ignored, but properly confronted. This will allow an individual the chance to properly succeed in life, which is what we all deserve.

Not an assurance, not a giveaway, just some even ground in which to compete.

Comment by Luiza on April 20, 2011 at 3:49am: It was a long and confusing journey, to have my daughter tested and identified as dyslexic. I suspected dyslexia since she was in the 1st grade because it runs in my family: both my brother and a first degree cousin were recognized as dyslexics in the 1960s. But everybody else, starting from her teachers, kept telling me that she was "fine." She wasn't. A psychoeducational eval at 10 yo yielded diagnosis of visual processing disorder. ("With her high scores on reading, if I say that she is dyslexic, people will think I'm nuts," the tester explained to me.) A comprehensive evaluation with a developmental optometrist yielded an interesting picture of difficulties with controlling eye movements together with very high scores in other areas, and a recommendation for visual therapy. A neuropsychological evaluation at 14 yo yielded an ADD-I diagnosis. ("Dyslexia is an unscientific word," the tester snapped at me.) This clinician also dismissed her visual processing problems along with the good results we had with visual therapy. (I really don't like to be told that what I know to be a fact is not a fact.) A comprehensive evaluation at a Speech and Language clinic led to a diagnosis of Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and a recommendation for speech therapy. That led to further testing, a diagnosis of expressive language disorder, and speech therapy. FINALLY, when my daughter was 18 yo, she saw doctors who put together all the pieces of this puzzle and identified her as dyslexic and dysgraphic. Gifted too. By the way, my daughter was also evaluated by an occupational therapist when she was 10 yo, and found to have functional skills, and to be in no need of therapy. I took her to my optometrist when she was in the first grade, and was told that she had "perfect vision." She didn't. We would have been spared much uncertainty if she had been identified as dyslexic early on. She would have been spare much hardship.

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