Dyslexia screening

[Bennybrains]

Hi, I'm looking for some feedback! Hope you can help me. I'm thinking of offering a dyslexia screening service to concerned parents. I can't diagnose dyslexia but am qualified to assess and give a report that gives an 'at risk' judgement eg from strongly at risk to not at risk, the report also gives a full account of the child's strengths and weaknesses. The idea is that parents can use the report to help their child themselves or if school is not acting on the parents concerns it could be used to support their case. Do you feel this service would be well received by other parents?

'I can't diagnose dyslexia but am qualified to assess and give a report that gives an 'at risk' judgement eg from strongly at risk to not at risk, the report also gives a full account of the child's strengths and weaknesses. '

What are your qualifications and how much will you charge?

'The idea is that parents can use the report to help their child themselves or if school is not acting on the parents concerns it could be used to support their case.'

What does the code of practice say about private reports? I've found it's a woolly area myself with regards to my own dc's.

I'm a qualified teacher bed (hons) with a diploma in prof. ed (specific learning Difficulties) and I hold BDA accredited teacher status. I would charge around £140 for the assessment, then I would visit again to talk through the report and also provide ideas and resources to support the child in their weaker areas. I know where you are coming from with regard to private reports but I think if the report is coming from a qualified professional then it must add weight to the parents cause. I would also see it being used to inform parents with regard to going ahead to pay £500 plus for a private diagnoses.

I can't see many people using it, tbh. If someone is going to pay for something privately, they will want a definitive diagnosis if they are trying to force the hand of a school or LA.
I think more would be interested in the providing of ideas and resources to support the child, and would think you'd do better marketing things that way, myself.

£140 sounds quite reasonable if you're doing an assessment and writing a report as well. I think it would be useful for parents to gain advice for how to help their child at home.

You might find that schools would try to ignore it though, especially if you're advising that the child has support/resources and they don't want to provide it.

I am dyslexic as is my DD1 and DS. DS is now in a school for severely dyslexic children.

Tbh I would not use such a screening test - I'd want a definite diagnosis from somewhere like Dyslexia Action or a private EP. In my experience, schools already ignore definite diagnoses from EPs - even when the reports come from places like Dyslexia Action.

LAs would not be interested - dyslexia diagnosed by qualified EPs is already much abused by LAs. My DS was diagnosed by one of this country's leading experts on dyslexia but my LA still tried to claim in court that dyslexia doesn't exist.

How about setting up as a private teacher for dyslexic children? My son saw such a tutor for a long time before he started his current school. They charged about £30 per hour. This is a very very valuable service - the tutors my DS saw also supported me when he was being home ed'ed and gave me a lot of practical advice to support him whilst he was out of school.

£140 does sound reasonable and could be useful for parents wanting an idea of their dcs needs.
however I dont think school or LA would accept the report if it just gave an indication of dyslexia.
my dd was assessed and dx by dyslexia action and the LA EP still tried to argue at tribunal that dyslexia doesnt exist.

Hi Bennybrains,

Dyslexia is a man made problem, a social construct, and langauge dependent.
Dyslexia is about having problems using the viusal notation of speech or the graphic symbols society chooses to represent the sounds of speech.

There are two type of Dyslexia, Alexia (aquired dyslexia) which results from brain injury, stroke, atrophy etc; and Developmental Dyslexia which has a genetic origin. There are three cogntive subtypes of Developmental Dyslexia, auditory, visual, and attentional. Which means that an auditory processing disorder, a visual processing disorder, an attention dusorder, or any combination of these issues can cause the dyslexic symptom.

Unfortunately you are not trained or qualified to assess ar diagnosew the clinical causes of the dyslexic symptom, And any BDA qualification only demonstrates that you are a qualified Orton Gillingham program provider. (which does not help all dyslexic due the various possible causes of the dylexic symptom)

have a look at some of the international reseach regarding dyslexia via the CiteULike research paper sharing library
Alexia (acquired dyslexia)
www.citeulike.org/group/13563/order/year,,
Developmental Dyslexia
www.citeulike.org/group/12693/order/year,,
Reading: Acquiring and Developing the Skills and Abilities
www.citeulike.org/group/15565/order/year,,