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Dyslexia Support Lancashire
Helen Nelson - Specialist Teacher and Assessor
BA Hons, Post Graduate Diploma SpLD, AMBDA, APC, MDG
What is Dyslexia ?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these
skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering
information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other
areas such as organisational skills. It is important to remember that there are positives to thinking differently. Many dyslexic
people show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields.
Delphi definition of dyslexia
Dyslexia is a set of processing difficulties that affect the acquisition of reading and spelling.
In dyslexia, some or all aspects of literacy attainment are weak in relation to age, standard teaching and instruction, and level of other attainments.
Across all languages, difficulties in reading fluency and spelling are key markers of dyslexia.
Dyslexic difficulties exist on a continuum and can be experienced to various degrees of severity.
The nature and developmental trajectory of dyslexia depends on multiple genetic and environmental influences.
Dyslexia can affect the acquisition of other skills, such as mathematics, reading comprehension or learning another language.
The most commonly observed cognitive impairment in dyslexia is a difficulty in phonological processing (i.e., in phonological
awareness, phonological processing speed or phonological memory). However, phonological difficulties do not fully explain
the variability that is observed.
Working memory, processing speed and orthographic skills can contribute to the impact of dyslexia.
Dyslexia frequently co-occurs with one or more other developmental difficulties, including developmental language disorder,
dyscalculia, ADHD, and developmental coordination disorder.
Full Dyslexia Assessment and diagnosis
£445 face to face or online
(Can be used for application of DSA)
A full dyslexia assessment takes approximately 2-3 hours.
It includes a full range of tests including tests of underlying ability, cognitive processing, reading, writing and spelling.
A detailed report is included with diagnosis and key recommendations.
This can focus on primary and secondary pupils, College and University students or the Workplace.
This assessment and report can be used for application of Disabled Student Allowance (DSA).
Dyslexia Screening
£205 Face to face or online
This is a 1.5 hour dyslexia screening test. This includes a reduced number of tests which will identify strengths and challenges and identify if there may be traits of Dyslexia. A short report is provided ( about 4-6 pages) and provides recommendations for parents and school. This can be combined with a dyscalculia screening for £405 but would then have to be face to face.