1. Make Personal Observations
Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects children and adults alike. It runs in families, it affects people of all socioeconomic classes and it can affect people of all intelligences, including those who are considered gifted. Dyslexia interferes with an individual's ability to acquire, develop and use language skills, such as reading, spelling and writing. Often, the first way to "test" for dyslexia is to make careful personal observations. If you have a child or other family member who displays normal intelligence but significantly lags behind his peers in reading or writing, he may have dyslexia. An individual with dyslexia is frequently able to articulate thoughts very well but is unable to convey the same level of detail or demonstrate the true depth of their knowledge in written work. Poor spelling and difficulty learning the alphabet and letter sounds are also signs that a person may have dyslexia. Keep a journal of your observations, including dates, times and specifics of the situation. You may need this information later when you request formal testing.
2. Seek a Private Evaluation
If you suspect a loved one may have dyslexia, you may wish to seek private evaluation services from qualified professionals. Private evaluation will entail comprehensive testing, which tests for dyslexia by considering the big picture. While intelligence testing used to be an integral part of comprehensive tests for dyslexia, it has come to play a less prominent role. Other tests for dyslexia include reading, writing and spelling tests as well as tests for visual scanning and sequencing. Comprehensive testing is done by a licensed psychologist. Tests can be administered by the psychologist face-to-face. The tests may also be administered from a distance, which means that a parent or guardian administers the test, usually to a child, in the home setting. The advantage to this is that the psychologist is able to perform a completely objective analysis of the results. The risk of home testing is that parent bias may be introduced into the results.
3. Request School Testing
Schools routinely begin screening to identify children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities as early as preschool and kindergarten. The screenings are not tests for dyslexia per se. Rather, they are questions asked of all members of a group to identify those who report certain difficulties with, say, following directions or doing math. If an individual reports any such problem, she may be identified as in need of additional support in school. If, despite receiving those supports, the individual continues to fail to reach the expected benchmarks for her grade level and other disabilities are ruled out, she may be found to be dyslexic. Regardless of whether your child has been identified through screening tests as in need of support--in fact, regardless of whether your child is even enrolled in school yet--you have the right to request that your school district complete at its expense comprehensive testing on your child to determine if she is dyslexic.
