Dyslexia Assessment for Children and Adults
How to Get Tested for Dyslexia in Halifax
Dyslexia is a neurobiological language-based disorder that results in a significant impairment in reading and spelling skills. Providing dyslexia assessments in Halifax for both children and adults is one of our specialties at Green Leaf Psychological.
To clarify, dyslexia is not simply the reversal of letters when reading. It is much more complex than this. Dyslexia has specific, predicable, and identifiable symptoms and requires the expertise of a trained professional for an accurate diagnosis.
Why use the Term "Dyslexia"?
Just like childhood ADHD, dyslexia is a real disorder with a neurological etiology. There has been a trend over the past few decades to shy away from using the word "dyslexia" in favor of the more generic term "Reading Disorder" or even "Learning Disorder". At Green Leaf Psychological in Halifax, we have never been fans of ambiguity when it comes to assessment and we are pleased to see more professionals recognizing the need to distinguish dyslexia from other reading issues. Dyslexia is a type of Reading Disorder / Learning Disorder, but it is a very specific type that requires a specialized assessment and interventions...hence the importance of being assessed by a psychologist who can specifically test for and diagnosis dyslexia if necessary.
To clarify, dyslexia is not simply the reversal of letters when reading. It is much more complex than this. Dyslexia has specific, predicable, and identifiable symptoms and requires the expertise of a trained professional for an accurate diagnosis.
Why use the Term "Dyslexia"?
Just like childhood ADHD, dyslexia is a real disorder with a neurological etiology. There has been a trend over the past few decades to shy away from using the word "dyslexia" in favor of the more generic term "Reading Disorder" or even "Learning Disorder". At Green Leaf Psychological in Halifax, we have never been fans of ambiguity when it comes to assessment and we are pleased to see more professionals recognizing the need to distinguish dyslexia from other reading issues. Dyslexia is a type of Reading Disorder / Learning Disorder, but it is a very specific type that requires a specialized assessment and interventions...hence the importance of being assessed by a psychologist who can specifically test for and diagnosis dyslexia if necessary.
What is Dyslexia?
Broadly, dyslexia is expressed by significant deficiencies in word-level reading skills. It impacts a child or adult's ability to decode words (pronouncing printed words) and also to encode words (for example, spelling). Even more simply, dyslexia affects one's ability to break the parts of words down so that they are understood as a single word...and the ability to pull them back together when spelling.
Not surprisingly, dyslexia is characterized by problems with accurate and/or fluent word reading and by poor spelling. These deficits are phonological in nature and are unexpected given the child or adult's other cognitive abilities or academic achievement.
What are the Symptoms of Dyslexia?
The symptoms of dyslexia can vary depending on the age of the individual and the nature of the difficulties. For example, one of the symptoms in young children may be difficulties learning how to rhyme words, whereas older children or adults with dyslexia may have problems reading fluently or with comprehension of written material. Not everyone with dyslexia will show all the signs, but common symptoms of dyslexia include:
Broadly, dyslexia is expressed by significant deficiencies in word-level reading skills. It impacts a child or adult's ability to decode words (pronouncing printed words) and also to encode words (for example, spelling). Even more simply, dyslexia affects one's ability to break the parts of words down so that they are understood as a single word...and the ability to pull them back together when spelling.
Not surprisingly, dyslexia is characterized by problems with accurate and/or fluent word reading and by poor spelling. These deficits are phonological in nature and are unexpected given the child or adult's other cognitive abilities or academic achievement.
What are the Symptoms of Dyslexia?
The symptoms of dyslexia can vary depending on the age of the individual and the nature of the difficulties. For example, one of the symptoms in young children may be difficulties learning how to rhyme words, whereas older children or adults with dyslexia may have problems reading fluently or with comprehension of written material. Not everyone with dyslexia will show all the signs, but common symptoms of dyslexia include:
- Difficulty rhyming words
- Difficulty learning which sounds are associated with the letters of the alphabet
- Mixing up words and letters that look visually similar (e.g., "b and d" or "bat and tab")
- Confusion with letters with similar sounds (e.g., "m and n")
- Difficulties putting letters in the correct order when spelling
- Difficulty pronouncing words with unusual spelling (e.g., knowing that "once" is not pronounced "on-cee")
- Spelling the same word many different ways (e.g., "hos, hous, hoss")
- Incorrectly spelling words by how they sound (e.g., "meen instead of "mean")
- Problems pronouncing words with multiple syllables
- Great effort to decode unfamiliar words which results in slow reading and poor understanding
Dyslexia Myths
Intelligent people cannot have dyslexia
Research has consistently found that dyslexia is not related to intelligence. People with dyslexia have a wide range of IQs and cognitive abilities that is very similar to the general population. This means that some will have below average intelligence, most will have average intelligence, and some will have above average intelligence.
Dyslexia is very uncommon
While the prevalence rates of dyslexia vary somewhat from study to study, most find that approximately 5-8% of school age children may have dyslexia (many of whom are undiagnosed and struggling academically due to a lack of proper intervention). Furthermore, reading problems account for close to 80% of children who have been diagnosed with a learning disorder.
People can grow out of dyslexia
Unfortunately, this does not appear to be true. As mentioned earlier, dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that does not disappear with age, nor is there a "cure" for it. Some difficulty with reading will likely persist into adulthood. However, with early detection (although it is never too late to benefit from an assessment) and proper intervention, people with dyslexia can improve their reading dramatically and can most certainly have academic and career success.
Dyslexia cannot be treated
Although dyslexia cannot be cured, it can be treated. There are interventions that can be employed by parents, teachers, and tutors to help someone with dyslexia. These interventions can minimize the potential negative impact of dyslexia and can greatly improve reading confidence. At Green Leaf Psychological in Halifax, we will recommend empirically validated interventions following any child or adult dyslexia diagnosis. Note: If you are doing dyslexia research on your own, please be careful as there are many questionable dyslexia "treatments" with little or no evidence for effectiveness.
Dyslexia can be diagnosed and treated by a physician
Dyslexia is not considered to be a medical problem and is not diagnosed or treated by physicians. Testing for dyslexia requires extensive education, training, and experience. It can only be diagnosed with a comprehensive assessment using specialized assessment materials and instruments. Most dyslexia diagnoses are made by psychologists.
Dyslexia is caused by a lack of instruction in phonics
If you are the parent of school aged child, you may already be aware that phonics is rarely taught in school anymore (true in Nova Scotia and in many other parts of Canada). While a lack of phonetic instruction is unfortunate (it is a very effective method of learning to read), this does not cause dyslexia. One thing that the absence of phonetic instruction does result in however, is fewer opportunities to detect reading problems such as dyslexia. This is because children with dyslexia will demonstrate a very clear set of difficulties with phonetic instruction - which can alert teachers and parents to a potential problem. So, while phonetic instruction is helpful for noticing the warning signs of dyslexia, increased phonetic instruction is generally not the best intervention for a child with dyslexia and other strategies are generally recommended.
Adults and children with dyslexia cannot read
The majority of people with dyslexia are able to read, but it is with great difficulty and effort. Children and adults with dyslexia will try to compensate for phonetic processing deficits by trying to memorize the shapes of words, use pictures (for young children), or passage context clues (for older children and adults) in an attempt to guess the word. Without a diagnosis and targeted intervention, reading ability may not progress much beyond an elementary school level.
Children with dyslexia cannot read well because they are lazy
Take a moment to reread the previous paragraph. Now imagine trying to use these strategies to guess words when reading unfamiliar material. Having dyslexia can be exhausting and obviously very frustrating. Almost by definition, it requires much much effort and energy for someone with dyslexia to read unfamiliar words or sentences. Understandably, children and adults with dyslexia may avoid reading, but this is because it is mentally exhausting and demoralizing, not because they are lazy.
After age 10, there is not much that can be done to help someone with dyslexia
Retraining and intervention for dyslexia can happen at any age.
Dyslexia affects boys more than girls
This is an interesting one. Boys are diagnosed with dyslexia more than girls, but research has found that both boys and girls are equally likely to have dyslexia. Why is this? Most believe that it has to do with detection. Let us explain. Although there are exceptions of course, when boys experience frustration in the classroom (in this case, with reading), they are generally more likely than girls to "act out" this frustration and disrupt the class. As a result, this can trigger attempts by teachers and parents to figure out what is going on - which could involve testing or an assessment. Consequently, boys tend to get diagnosed for dyslexia more frequently and earlier than girls - who are often in high school or even later before an assessment is initiated.
Intelligent people cannot have dyslexia
Research has consistently found that dyslexia is not related to intelligence. People with dyslexia have a wide range of IQs and cognitive abilities that is very similar to the general population. This means that some will have below average intelligence, most will have average intelligence, and some will have above average intelligence.
Dyslexia is very uncommon
While the prevalence rates of dyslexia vary somewhat from study to study, most find that approximately 5-8% of school age children may have dyslexia (many of whom are undiagnosed and struggling academically due to a lack of proper intervention). Furthermore, reading problems account for close to 80% of children who have been diagnosed with a learning disorder.
People can grow out of dyslexia
Unfortunately, this does not appear to be true. As mentioned earlier, dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that does not disappear with age, nor is there a "cure" for it. Some difficulty with reading will likely persist into adulthood. However, with early detection (although it is never too late to benefit from an assessment) and proper intervention, people with dyslexia can improve their reading dramatically and can most certainly have academic and career success.
Dyslexia cannot be treated
Although dyslexia cannot be cured, it can be treated. There are interventions that can be employed by parents, teachers, and tutors to help someone with dyslexia. These interventions can minimize the potential negative impact of dyslexia and can greatly improve reading confidence. At Green Leaf Psychological in Halifax, we will recommend empirically validated interventions following any child or adult dyslexia diagnosis. Note: If you are doing dyslexia research on your own, please be careful as there are many questionable dyslexia "treatments" with little or no evidence for effectiveness.
Dyslexia can be diagnosed and treated by a physician
Dyslexia is not considered to be a medical problem and is not diagnosed or treated by physicians. Testing for dyslexia requires extensive education, training, and experience. It can only be diagnosed with a comprehensive assessment using specialized assessment materials and instruments. Most dyslexia diagnoses are made by psychologists.
Dyslexia is caused by a lack of instruction in phonics
If you are the parent of school aged child, you may already be aware that phonics is rarely taught in school anymore (true in Nova Scotia and in many other parts of Canada). While a lack of phonetic instruction is unfortunate (it is a very effective method of learning to read), this does not cause dyslexia. One thing that the absence of phonetic instruction does result in however, is fewer opportunities to detect reading problems such as dyslexia. This is because children with dyslexia will demonstrate a very clear set of difficulties with phonetic instruction - which can alert teachers and parents to a potential problem. So, while phonetic instruction is helpful for noticing the warning signs of dyslexia, increased phonetic instruction is generally not the best intervention for a child with dyslexia and other strategies are generally recommended.
Adults and children with dyslexia cannot read
The majority of people with dyslexia are able to read, but it is with great difficulty and effort. Children and adults with dyslexia will try to compensate for phonetic processing deficits by trying to memorize the shapes of words, use pictures (for young children), or passage context clues (for older children and adults) in an attempt to guess the word. Without a diagnosis and targeted intervention, reading ability may not progress much beyond an elementary school level.
Children with dyslexia cannot read well because they are lazy
Take a moment to reread the previous paragraph. Now imagine trying to use these strategies to guess words when reading unfamiliar material. Having dyslexia can be exhausting and obviously very frustrating. Almost by definition, it requires much much effort and energy for someone with dyslexia to read unfamiliar words or sentences. Understandably, children and adults with dyslexia may avoid reading, but this is because it is mentally exhausting and demoralizing, not because they are lazy.
After age 10, there is not much that can be done to help someone with dyslexia
Retraining and intervention for dyslexia can happen at any age.
Dyslexia affects boys more than girls
This is an interesting one. Boys are diagnosed with dyslexia more than girls, but research has found that both boys and girls are equally likely to have dyslexia. Why is this? Most believe that it has to do with detection. Let us explain. Although there are exceptions of course, when boys experience frustration in the classroom (in this case, with reading), they are generally more likely than girls to "act out" this frustration and disrupt the class. As a result, this can trigger attempts by teachers and parents to figure out what is going on - which could involve testing or an assessment. Consequently, boys tend to get diagnosed for dyslexia more frequently and earlier than girls - who are often in high school or even later before an assessment is initiated.
Dyslexia Assessment in Halifax
At our Halifax clinic, our psychologists provide specialized dyslexia assessments for both children an adults. We are able to offer dyslexia testing for children age six and older.
An incorrect diagnosis (failing to diagnosis dyslexia when it is present...or incorrectly concluding that it exists when it does not) obviously has serious consequences. Therefore, we take great care with our assessments and place the highest priority on arriving at the correct diagnosis accompanied by practical recommendations you can implement as soon as you leave our office.
A dyslexia assessment may include:
Depending on the nature of the difficulties, a dyslexia assessment may require a full day (or two half days) of testing. Especially with children, it is always better to carry testing over to second day rather than persist if he or she is tired or frustrated. There is no reason for you or your child to be worried about the testing day - all of our Halifax psychologists have adopted a unique "no-stress" policy towards testing and we will do everything we can to make the day as comfortable (and as enjoyable) as possible!
At our Halifax clinic, our psychologists provide specialized dyslexia assessments for both children an adults. We are able to offer dyslexia testing for children age six and older.
An incorrect diagnosis (failing to diagnosis dyslexia when it is present...or incorrectly concluding that it exists when it does not) obviously has serious consequences. Therefore, we take great care with our assessments and place the highest priority on arriving at the correct diagnosis accompanied by practical recommendations you can implement as soon as you leave our office.
A dyslexia assessment may include:
- A clinical interview with the client and his/her family members (if appropriate)
- An interview with teachers (for children and teens)
- An examination of schools records, homework, and tests
- IQ testing
- Academic testing
- A battery of specialized tests focusing on language, phonological awareness, reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and writing
Depending on the nature of the difficulties, a dyslexia assessment may require a full day (or two half days) of testing. Especially with children, it is always better to carry testing over to second day rather than persist if he or she is tired or frustrated. There is no reason for you or your child to be worried about the testing day - all of our Halifax psychologists have adopted a unique "no-stress" policy towards testing and we will do everything we can to make the day as comfortable (and as enjoyable) as possible!
Ready to find answers about dyslexia?
Are you having problems related to reading? Is your child struggling with reading or spelling in school? Are you wondering about dyslexia? If you live in or near Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, or Clayton Park we can help.
If you have any questions about our dyslexia testing (or other assessments) for children and adults please let us know. We will answer any questions you have about testing (no obligations or commitments whatsoever) and would be happy to set up an appointment if you decide to use our service.
If you have any questions about our dyslexia testing (or other assessments) for children and adults please let us know. We will answer any questions you have about testing (no obligations or commitments whatsoever) and would be happy to set up an appointment if you decide to use our service.
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After you submit the form, we will definitely get back to you. However, email is sometimes filtered into junk mail folders by mistake. To prevent this from happening, please add GreenLeafPsyc@outlook.com to your list of safe contacts...or make sure to check your spam folder if you don't see a reply in your inbox within 24 hours. Thanks!
After you submit the form, we will definitely get back to you. However, email is sometimes filtered into junk mail folders by mistake. To prevent this from happening, please add GreenLeafPsyc@outlook.com to your list of safe contacts...or make sure to check your spam folder if you don't see a reply in your inbox within 24 hours. Thanks!
