Private assessment for Dyspraxia

[Toodallooo2000]

Is it possible to get a private assessment for Dyspraxia? I suspect my 18 year old DC has this and wanted to get a speedy assessment. He is taking an A-Level in June which he is doing as an independent candidate. I want to ascertain if he qualifies for additional time. I'm not sure if we went down the usual route for assessment that the assessment would be done in time to sort out Access arrangements for next year's exam.

Yes, it should be perfectly possible. I think you'd go via a private Ed Psych who could then do the tests. (You could also be cheeky and ask NHS if you could do 'self funded NHS' (you pay the cost) if it speeds things up.)
Our DS2 was tested by a private Ed Psych and qualified for extra time due to dyspraxia. It costs around £600 in our area. (SE UK.)

Is it a dyspraxia assessment you need, or is it

• handwriting speed
• processing speed

Can the exams centre where he will be taking the exam advise? (i.e. I'm not sure that a private Dyspraxia diagnosis will help per se with access arrangements).

iirc The deadline is around Feb to get the arrangements certified, but this might be out of date.

Thank you both very much for your advice.

In answer to your query TeenPlusTwenties DS has illegible handwriting. He was allowed to take A-Levels this year using a laptop as a result. The exam he will take in June 2020 as an independent candidate will be Maths. DS says that won't be able to use laptop for this. Therefore he thinks he will need extra time to produce legible handwriting.

I could be wrong, but I think his poor handwriting is likely to be due to Dyspraxia as DS exhibits many of the indicators for this.

I'm not an expert and could well be wrong, but I don't believe you'll need a dyspraxia assessment as such to get alternate arrangements due to handwriting.
(Though it could well be helpful to have it in writing for later life. It has helped DD1 to have the 'label' as she finds it easier to explain her difficulties.)
If he takes 25% extra time, can he then write legibly?
The other theoretical option would be a scribe but I would think he would have to practice using one quite a lot for that to work for A level maths.

Contact the exam centre and ask to speak to the exams officer and ask what is needed / what will be accepted?

Examination access arrangements are determined by particular difficulties ( e.g handwriting speed), not SpLD diagnoses. An Ed Psych could do the assessments for you, but a specialist teacher might be cheaper. Schools/colleges also have internal assessors, so you should talk with them first.

Sorry, I missed the independent candidate part on first reading.

If you are in the NE I can recommend the Ed Psych we used last year (also £600). DS is in Yr 9 and just starting his GCSEs and he will definitely have extra time for exams however his school are also applying for other concessions. Ideally he will have a scribe as in addition to his illegible handwriting, his dyspraxia really affects his concentration. This may also be a possibility for you DS.

Thank you all. All of your posts are food for thought. Based on what you have all said, I am thinking of contacting NEC (the organisation who DS does Maths A-level through) about possible access arrangements that could be out in place at one of their examination centres. I have the letter from DS's former college which confirmed he needed to use a laptop for exams due to poor handwriting.