Dyslexia Assessments
Good news!
Expensive testing by an Educational Psychologist is no longer required to identify Dyslexia. Why? Because identification of cognitive processing deficits and an ability - achievement gap are no longer criteria for a Dyslexia diagnosis. Speechie uses the most up-to-date Dyslexia diagnostic criteria when considering a Dyslexia diagnosis.
Expensive testing by an Educational Psychologist is no longer required to identify Dyslexia. Why? Because identification of cognitive processing deficits and an ability - achievement gap are no longer criteria for a Dyslexia diagnosis. Speechie uses the most up-to-date Dyslexia diagnostic criteria when considering a Dyslexia diagnosis.
As at July 2020, the cost of Dyslexia assessment is fixed at $250 including GST.
Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention
Ages 4 to 24
No more wondering what's wrong and wishing you knew how to make it better: Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention gets to the bottom of reading, writing and spelling problems. It comes with a formal assessment report that identifies clear starting points for intervention so you can put the right intervention where it matters and begin improving your child's reading, writing and spelling skills straight away.
Ages 4 to 24
No more wondering what's wrong and wishing you knew how to make it better: Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention gets to the bottom of reading, writing and spelling problems. It comes with a formal assessment report that identifies clear starting points for intervention so you can put the right intervention where it matters and begin improving your child's reading, writing and spelling skills straight away.
Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention includes a free bonus!
Children ages 4 to 16 receive a complimentary comprehensive communication screening using an internationally respected, gold-standard screening to determine the wider oral language context in which the child's literacy acquisition difficulties exist. (Because literacy skills are part of oral language skills.) Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention is evidence-based.
This means that we actually and only evaluate the specific skills that research has found to be critical for literacy learning including phonological processing, orthographic processing and working memory. This means you will not be paying for or be putting your child through unnecessary, irrelevant testing. |
Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Prevention & Intervention delivers an independent, objective assessment report you can give to your child's school.
The report will identify 'what is so' in terms of the child's functional reading and spelling skills and clarify the specific reasons why a child is having difficulty with learning to read and spell. Common feedback we get from families is that our assessment report was powerful in getting the school to recognise the nature and extent of their child's reading and spelling difficulties and was instrumental in enabling them to secure extra help from the school for the child as well as a referral to the Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) for further support. 
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Assessment for Dyslexia Diagnosis
Ages 4 to 50
Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Diagnosis consists of an individual (academic) achievement test to determine whether or not reading, written expression and mathematics skills are within age expectation or whether they are significantly different from peers and meet the criteria for a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD). Additionally, for ages 6 and over this assessment includes an internationally respected, gold-standard screening of non-verbal intelligence / learning potential to rule out intellectual difficulties.
Please keep in mind that a diagnosis of Dyslexia is best / most appropriately made by an interdisciplinary team to ensure that all diagnostic considerations are addressed.
Please be aware that Dyslexia diagnosis can be a bit of a can of worms… despite the existence of very clear diagnostic criteria (see the link below), from our experience it seems that different assessors tend to use different diagnostic criteria, and you could easily end up paying a whole lot of money for an assessment by an assessor who uses invalid or outdated diagnostic criteria... and end up with a misdiagnosis.
Read this before booking Speechie's Assessment for Dyslexia Diagnosis for secondary and tertiary students:
If you are wanting a Dyslexia diagnosis for the purpose of accessing funding for assistive technology, funding for additional support or Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) for NZCEA exams at secondary or tertiary education level, we recommended that you inquire with the relevant funding agency to confirm whether or not they require assessment and diagnosis by a Level C Assessor. Here's why:
In the past, the criteria for a Dyslexia diagnosis included requirements for a deficit in cognitive processing skills and an ability - achievement gap. These criteria were found to be invalid and were thrown out in 2006. Unfortunately, funding agencies tend to still require that a Dyslexia diagnosis must be made by an Educational Psychologist or other NZCER Level C Assessor based on these outdated and invalid criteria. (We have raised this inequity issue with the Learning Disability Association of New Zealand / LDANZ.)
To sum up: Speechie has NZCER Level B Assessor status, NOT Level C. While administration of an individual achievement test is within the ethics and scope of our practice, the fact currently remains that a Dyslexia diagnosis made by us may not be accepted for the reasons presented here.
Sources:
Cruickshank, W. M. (1977). Least-restrictive placement: Administrative wishful thinking. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 10, 193-194
Cruickshank, W. M. (1977). Least-restrictive placement: Administrative wishful thinking. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 10, 193-194
