When to have an assessment
As children develop at different ages we offer full diagnostic assessments from age 8 upwards.
What happens in an assessment
Our assessments are interactive with practical tasks which explore a child's memory and processing skills, as well as their reading, spelling and writing skills.
An assessment will explore:
- verbal and non-verbal reasoning
- cognitive processing skills e.g. memory, phonological awareness and speed of phonological processing
- reading, spelling and writing skills
Maths skills will not usually be investigated during this assessment.
Assessments can take up to three hours. They take place in a quiet room, free of distractions. Parents can wait on site if they wish. There is a short break when your child can have a drink and a snack.
The assessment report
All assessments allow time after the assessment for discussion. A detailed report will be provided within three weeks of the assessment. The report will include:
- an Overview section which summarises your child's cognitive profile, their strengths and the impact any cognitive difficulties may have on their learning. It will include a diagnosis of dyslexia if this is supported by the assessment. Please note that it is not always possible to diagnose dyslexia.
- a summary of background information provided by home and school, including a history of support.
- detailed interpretation of test results.
- extensive recommendations for support at home and in the classroom.
- further referral to other professionals such as an Occupational Therapist or Speech and Language Therapist, if appropriate.
Fee
The assessment costs £699. We ask that this is paid in full before the assessment.
If you need to pay this in instalments, please let us know and we can book further in advance in order to allow sufficient time to make these payments.
A proportion of the fee
that you pay helps us to provide subsidised assessments to lower-income
families. This prevents people from being excluded from getting the help they need. Thank
you very much for your help and support.
Please note that when making an enquiry, there is the option for anyone to request bursary support.
Our Specialist Assessors
Our Specialist Assessors are required to hold a current Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) approved by the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC). Therefore, these reports can be used to support an application for Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) in the future. Each of our Specialist Assessors holds a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Our Specialist Assessors cannot diagnose Autism or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as these are medical conditions and require assessment by the appropriate health professionals.
Information we will need
If you do make an enquiry for this kind of assessment, we will ask you to complete a Family Questionnaire (which includes providing the date of your child's sight test which must be no more than 2 years old, as well as responses to questions regarding potential visual difficulties).
If answering always or often to certain visual questions indicated in the Family Questionnaire, we will require you to please discuss these responses with your child's optometrist (the person conducting the sight test) before we can book in an assessment.
We will also need your child's school to complete a School Questionnaire and will give you clear instructions on how to ask your school to do this once your enquiry has been submitted. At this point, we will also request that any previous reports (e.g. Speech and Language, EHCP etc) are uploaded to your enquiry page.
If English is not your child's first language
A child needs to have lived in an English-speaking country and have been speaking
English for several years before they can be assessed for dyslexia.
They will also need to be learning to read, write and spell in English. The tests we
use to assess for dyslexia rely on having well-developed English-speaking
skills and understanding of an English-speaking culture. If they have not lived
in an English-speaking country and have not spoken English regularly for several years before the assessment, the assessment will not be valid.
