The Art of Assessment
How do I figure out if my child needs help?
The process of identifying how significant your child's issues with reading are can be overwhelming. Thankfully, the process of learning to read is well understood and there are simple screeners you can use to identify how to support your child. Do issues with reading mean that your child has a disability? Not necessarily. But what do you do when you suspect your child has a reading disability? Join us to learn the different levels of assessments you can use to help your child learn how to read.
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2. A BRIEF REVIEW ABOUT DYSLEXIA
Reading is not natural
Reading has to be explicitly taught
Dyslexia occurs in up to 20% of the general
population
Dyslexia is genetic
Dyslexia ranges from mild to profound
Students with dyslexia need early and
intensive intervention
3. DYSLEXIA IN THE EARLY YEARS:
RISK FACTORS AND EARLY SIGNS
INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS
A parent, sibling, aunt/uncle and or grandparent with dyslexia or
suspected dyslexia (or struggled with reading/spelling)
An interest in listening to books but not interested in the letters.
Difficulty learning the alphabet.
Perhaps naming letters as numbers.
No interest in books at all.
Not able to write their own name by Kindergarten.
Difficulty with rhyming and playing with words/sounds
4. HOW TO ASSESS YOUNG CHILDREN
Phonemic Awareness is key to identifying potential reading struggles
in young children.
The CTOPP-2 can be used with children starting at the age of four.
Example: What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word bat?
What sound do you hear at the end of the word bed?
What sound do you hear in the middle of the word cot?
Phonemic Awareness is the ability to manipulate language before
sounds are assigned to letters.
**Transposing letters is normal through the first grade and should not
be the only red flag for dyslexia.
5. HOW TO GET CHILD EVALUATED
Informal: You can begin to collect data. Spelling tests, prompted
writing, reading scores.
Formal: Children can be diagnosed with dyslexia as early as 5
years old.
You can request an evaluation from the school in kindergarten.
You can have your child evaluated by a neuropsychologist
Medical doctors do not diagnose dyslexia.
Schools do not diagnose dyslexia, but can determine eligibility.
It is never too early for an intervention or identification.
And, it is never too late.
6. WHAT SHOULD FORMAL EVALUATION
INCLUDE
Background History
IQ / Cognitive Ability
Phonemic Awareness
Phonological Awareness
Decoding / Phonics Skills
Reading Comprehension – oral and silent
Fluency – cold read
Spelling
Writing samples
Observation (if done by school staff)
7. WORDS OF CAUTION
Do not let the school tell you to wait to see if they outgrow it. This
is a common statement, especially about boys.
Vision Therapy screening is not a valid way to evaluate for
dyslexia
Irlen Scotopic Sensitivity screening is not a valid way to evaluate
for dyslexia
