Frequently Asked Questions
- problems learning the names and sounds of letters
- spelling that’s unpredictable and inconsistent
- writing letters and figures the wrong way round (such as writing “6” instead of “9”, or “b” instead of “d”)
- confusing the order of letters in words
- reading slowly or making errors when reading aloud
- being adept at answering questions out loud, but having more difficulty writing answers down
- difficulty remembering or carrying out a sequence of instructions
- struggling to learn sequences, such as months of the year, times tables or the alphabet
- slow writing speed
- poor handwriting
- problems with accuracy when copying and taking longer than normal to complete written work
- poor phonological awareness skills – difficulty identifying rhyming words, counting syllables or changing sounds in words. For example, what new word do you make if you delete the ‘r’ from ‘frog’?
- poor word attack skills – difficulty breaking unfamiliar longer words into smaller, more readable chunks. For example, ‘discriminate’ into ‘dis-crim-in-ate’.
Some common signs of dyslexia to look out for in secondary aged children include:
- Dislikes or avoids reading
- Reading aloud sounds hesitant or laboured
- Often omits, repeats or adds extra words when reading
- Reads well, but has a low level of comprehension
- Skips or repeats lines of text whilst reading
- Written work of a poorer standard than verbal ability
- Handwriting may be untidy with poorly formed letters or neat but very slow
- Spellings often corrected or may spell the same word differently several times
- Frequent issues with punctuation, grammar and capitalisation
- Often ‘loses the thread’ whilst writing
- Finds note taking or copying difficult in class
- Struggles to organise themselves, complete homework on time and often seem forgetful or excessively tired.
- May find it hard to learn foreign languages
- Often has word finding difficulties when speaking
- May struggle to keep up with the pace of teaching in class or find it hard to process information at speed
- May misunderstand complicated verbal or written questions or struggle to remember multiple instructions
Unfortunately, at this time I am not able to offer specialist tuition.
Dyslexia is known to run in families, so in some cases, parents may start to see traits emerging that they themselves experienced at school. In other cases, it can just be a niggling doubt that something is not quite right.
If you are worried that your child is showing signs of dyslexia or struggling at school, the first step is to talk to your child’s teacher. If additional support does not seem to be helping, a dyslexia assessment can be a good way to root out the cause of underlying problems.
If you are unsure whether your child should be assessed for dyslexia, I’m very happy to discuss your concerns in a brief phone call before you commit. If you would prefer a fuller consultation meeting before deciding, this can be arranged at a cost of £75.00/hour.
It depends.
If you suspect there may be more complex or general learning difficulties, it may be better for your child to see an educational psychologist as they have access to a different type of cognitive ability test which may be more suitable. However, if you suspect a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, a specialist assessor is likely to have a better understanding of the learning environment and is often able to make more specific recommendations for support both at school and at home.
If the assessment reveals indicators of co-occurring specific learning difficulties such as dyspraxia (DCD), dyscalculia, ADHD, visual processing or speech and language issues, both specialist assessors and educational psychologists would refer on to the relevant professionals.
If you are not sure what sort of assessment would be most suitable for your child, I would be able to offer guidance on the best course of action.
I generally assess children from 8 to 18 years of age. Although parents of younger children are sometimes keen to have an assessment, it is important to ensure that learning difficulties are not due to developmental delays or missed educational opportunities during Covid lockdowns. Therefore it is generally considered better to wait until they are at least 8. Equally, younger children will not have had much time to respond to additional teaching intervention, so again it may be better to wait. Please do ask if you would like to know more.
Please contact me by email and I will respond as soon as I can. I am always happy to discuss your concerns in a phone call and if you would like to go ahead, will then email you the family and school questionnaires plus a visual difficulties checklist. Once these have been completed and returned, we can arrange a date. A non-refundable £100 deposit is required to confirm the booking. The balance of £525 is due two working days before the assessment takes place.
Please make all payments via bank transfer using the invoice number as your reference.
If you are unable to make the assessment, you may reschedule without incurring charges. The deposit will move to the newly agreed date. However, if you wish to change a booking, please give as much notice as possible, so I am able to offer the appointment to another parent. In the event of client cancellation within 48 hours of the assessment time or non-arrival at the specified time, the deposit will be forfeited.
A full diagnostic assessment usually takes about 3 to 3.5 hours including one short break.
Although it sounds quite long, the session goes very quickly as all the activities are short and engaging. Most children enjoy it!
If required, an assessment could be conducted as 2 shorter sessions. Please ask if you think this would be more appropriate for your child
I assess at my home in Kew. An assessment must be done in a quiet space without distractions, so parents are invited to either wait in an adjoining room, in their car or to go off and explore Kew, returning at a set time. I have a current DBS certificate and am used to working with children and usually find they settle very quickly once we get started.
Your child must have had a recent eye test (within the last 2 years).
Before the assessment, you will be emailed two background questionnaires. One is for you to fill in for your child and the other should be passed to your child’s school for their class teacher or SENCo to complete. You will also be asked to complete a Visual Difficulties Screener with your child.
Please provide as much relevant information as you can in the questionnaire, as this background history, along with the tests from the assessment, will help me to come to a diagnostic decision.
The family and school questionnaires will need to be returned before a booking can be confirmed. If you have reports from other professionals, such as an optometrist or speech and language therapist, it would be useful to include a copy of these too as it helps me to gain a holistic view of your child.
Please provide your child with their own water bottle and snack.
They will also need any other items that are usually used in the classroom, such as reading glasses or coloured overlays.
After the assessment, I can answer questions and briefly outline initial thoughts, but I can not give any conclusive opinions prior to scoring the tests.
The full report, including a diagnosis when appropriate, will be emailed within 3 weeks as a password protected PDF. On occasion, it may not be possible to make a clear cut diagnosis of dyslexia, but whether there is a formal diagnosis or not, each report will consider your child’s strengths and weaknesses and contain detailed recommendations for support both at school and at home. If appropriate, suggestions for exam access arrangements will also be made for the school SENCo to consider. Information for referral to other relevant professionals, such as behavioural optometrists, occupational therapists, or speech and language therapists may be also included.
Once you have read the report, I am happy to answer any further questions you may have in a post-assessment phone call.
The data you provide will be used only for the provision of agreed upon services and will not be shared with any other parties without consent. You have the right to see what data I hold on you or your child and to request that any data held is amended or deleted.
For more information see here: https://kewdyslexia.co.uk/index.php/about-me-privacy/
Please just ask!