Processing speed tests- Dyslexia

[glitterbiscuits]

We have had the more detailed test for 11 year old DD.

Most categories have come back as average and above but processing speed tests but her at below and well below average on the 5th centile. The only other low score was memory letters forward- 9th centile.

Can anyone explain more about these to me please? I’m going to see the teacher but would like some more info so I’m not going in blindly ignorant.

The google search I did links things like this to reading but she is an excellent reader.

She doesn’t seem to anything other than at her school work, maths may be a bit lowers than it should. So unless we hadn’t had a standard test flagged up we would never have known and not had this detail.

Obviously I want her to reach her full potential. If she needs anything extra I want to sort it for her.

I'm not an expert but have a DS with dyslexia and found British dyslexia association and Dyslexia action helpful when he was diagnosed.

I'm struggling to find out info too. One of my 10yr old DT's was picked up as dyslexic at school in yr1, flunked his phonics test... Got help from school with Toe by Toe and acetates etc. We star told school were on it and no urgency for a private assessment. Somewhere along the line he fell off the school list of dyslexic kids and had been doing ok ish but with appalling spelling ("vejidibool" for vegetable, "wunserpoonertim" for once upon a time) which his yr6 class teacher commented on at parents eve... We said "that'll be the dyslexia" but his teacher is the school Dyslexia Lead and he wasnt on her radar. She did the GL screening on him last week and also tested his twin who is mid adhd assesment thru school nurse /community Paediatrics... DT1 scored E ("severley dyslexic") and his twin wth the adhd D ("moderate dyslexia") where the scale is A-E wth A being "no signs of dyslexia" and apparently most dyslexics come up as a C. Not really sure where to go next, plan is to try and get DT1 for a private assessment ASAP and see what happens with DT2's adhd investigations... But not really clear what the private assessment will prove other than hopefully meaning he/they gets on the radar and gets support quickly with the move to secondary. All any advice welcome.

The tests may mean nothing more than it took a bit longer to read it letters and numbers. If she didn't realise it was timed that may be a factor. If reading speed and maths are secure it may be something minor or nothing. If letters forward are weak, but reversed and numbers forward/reversed are all fine then the low score may be an anomaly.

See what teacher says about whether the scores explain anything observed in the classroom and take it from there.

Bit late to the party on this but, if you're still there......I am a 'specialist assessor' who carries out these assessments on children. Firstly, if the school has an 'in house' assessor it is highly unlikely they will be qualified to officially diagnose dyslexia. This can only be done by a qualified psychologist. Assessors in school (eg SENCOs) can only observe dyslexic traits. However, a diagnosis is not really going to change things other than give you confirmation of the info the school have already provided....that your child is struggling with literacy. The school can act independently of a diagnosis and provide additional support based on what they already know. They don't need anything in writing from an independent practitioner.

With regards to 'slow processing', please don't worry about this. It is not an indication of low ability. Many of the students I assess, who meet the criteria for 'slow processing', are highly intelligent and perform well in school. It is simply a measure of how fast the student works, not the extent of their understanding. If they meet the criteria for 'slow processing' and have a history of difficulties it can result in them being granted extra time to complete formal exams. Not a bad thing.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for the reply @PippyRose

Funnily enough the full written assessment report came through yesterday.

I will have a good read of it over the weekend and I may have some follow up questions

Thanks again.

No worries. It's easy to get blinded by science if you're not familiar with the terminology but it's not that complicated once you know about the standard deviation and centiles. If you need any help interpreting the report, just let me know :)

Try not to worry though, it's not a reflection of ability, it's about identifying a 'need' and addressing it. If your child's difficulties have been identified, it's a positive thing, especially so early on.

Firstly, if the school has an 'in house' assessor it is highly unlikely they will be qualified to officially diagnose dyslexia. This can only be done by a qualified psychologist. Assessors in school (eg SENCOs) can only observe dyslexic traits.

Just as a quick aside, this is not true. Specialist teachers with a Level 7 professional qualification in SpLDs and who are Associate Members of the British Dyslexia Association are qualified to officially diagnose specific learning difficulties. For adults they are also qualified to diagnose specific learning difficulties if they hold an Assessment Practicing Certificate as well.

Many SENCOs do hold this qualification, although they do not always hold an APC because they do not require it to work with and diagnose children.

I have the Level 7 assessor's qualification in Psychometric Assessments and the Certificate in Access Arrangements. I do not know of any SENCOs who are qualified to diagnose dyslexia. I am aware that assessments such as the WRAT4 or ART2 can indicate dyslexic tendencies but I'm not entirely sure this constitutes an official diagnosis?

As far as I was aware, an official diagnosis needs to come from either a clinical or educational psychologist. This is certainly what I have been led to believe. Apologies if this is not correct.

It would be interesting to hear more from you though EaAicheCeePee as I am relatively new to this field. Thanks for your input.

Does holding the CPT3a and having a teaching qualification make someone eligible for an APC? I know it qualifies for BPS registration. Interesting stuff. Would be good to hear from you.

No, CPT3a is primarily a testing qualification which allows for testing for access arrangements. I believe that if you also have ATS (approved teacher status) you may be able to pair it with CPT3a to apply for an APC via route 3. ATS is the teacher status for working with students that have learning difficulties, this is not the same as QTS from a PGCE or TeachFirst.

If you do not have ATS, then a Level5 qualification accredited by the BDA can often be completed for this purpose.

Always happy to get private messages if you would like, so we don't clog up this thread.