Dyslexia Testing

Dyslexia testing for children, adults and
in the workplace.

Completing test

Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties in children but can, in turn, cause low self-esteem, lack of confidence and sometimes leads to behavioural problems.

Our Dyslexia assessments will give you a qualified diagnosis and full report of strengths and weaknesses, along with a recommended support and learning programme tailored to your child’s specific needs. A diagnosis can be daunting for both parent and child, so our team are committed to providing ongoing support and advice to help manage the learning journey together.

We are now able to offer VIRTUAL ASSESSMENTS throughout the UK and worldwide (subject to timezone) for children over 10 and adults, in addition to our normal face to face assessments

What’s the process?

Below describes what would be a typical process for a dyslexia assessment, it may vary depending on you and your needs, but we’ll keep you up to date with what’s next, and of course you can ask us any questions you may have.

Pre-assessment

Post-assessment

Adults

For adult assessments you will have a pre-assessment call to discuss your history, current issues, work or education history. It can help if you are able to speak with your parent about your early development. 

Adults

Aftercare is very important to us, however we pride ourselves on our clear and easy to read reports with no specialist lingo, with accessible recommendations and reasonable adjustments suggested. Where beneficial and requested, we are also happy to speak directly with your employer or university.

Children

You will submit on behalf of the child being assessed a family questionnaire, school questionnaire (to be completed by the school), eye screening questionnaire and any other reports you may have.

Children

Just as with adults, our aftercare and reports are second to none. We understand that some schools or teachers may have little support, so we try and give advice for whole class teaching. Where beneficial and requested, we are also happy to speak directly with schools and teachers.

Adult Assessment Definition

A full diagnostic assessment which gives a diagnosis of dyslexia if appropriate. You will be offered a feedback phone-call. You will be given advice in regards to technology aids and a link to the Sid Project charity. You will be able to access ongoing support by emailing questions if needed – as well as joining our support group on facebook or joining our mailing list. We may advise further support through a recommended opticians or other professionals- this is your choice and is only advisory.

In our experience most adults can find assessment very tiring and emotionally draining and the diagnosis may also cause upset – a mixture or relief and anger at times. Emotion during assessment can be a surprise to some and we advise ensuring you are well rested and not returning to work that day. In assessments we are looking at all the things you find most difficult and have possibly avoided and this can be difficult for many. Your assessor will support you and gauge when you need breaks so please trust our experience that you may need this break more than you think.

We recommend that you try and use the feedback call option and keep in touch with us to work through these emotions. We have a lot of experience and can offer other support available- you now have us to help you and do not need to continue alone.

Child Assessment Definition

A full diagnostic assessment which gives a diagnosis of dyslexia if appropriate. You will be offered a meeting in school to offer advice and a feedback phone-call. You will also be sent a copy of a book which explains dyslexia to children- this is a useful tool if you want to talk to your child about this. You will be able to access ongoing support by emailing questions if needed – as well as joining our support group on facebook or joining our mailing list. We may advise further support through a recommended opticians or other professionals- this is your choice and is only advisory.

We advise a good night sleep and a good breakfast and lots of water beforehand. Children can be tired after assessment and we may not finish until after 1pm therefore it might not be possible for them to return to school. 

Further Information

Assessments generally take up to three hours including breaks, and most assessments are completed on the day, however occasionally we may need to see the person being assessed again for follow-up tests at a later date.

A diagnosis is part of The Equality Act 2010 and it is lifelong- this document will carry through your child’s life even to university. However if they have their assessment at a very young age it may be appropriate to have new assessment before or around their GCSE or A levels to update recommendations.

An assessor must have the additional award of APC (Assessment Practising Certificate) in order for the report to be used for disability allowances. All assessors at Toucan Education have this award.

“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.
Substantial is defined as ‘more than trivial’.

Frequently Asked Questions
How long will the assessment take?

Everyone is different when it comes to assessments for dyslexia, so there’s no absolute answer to this, but on average you can expect it to last 3-4 hours. We will take several breaks during the process, and we recommend that you bring lunch with you, although some snacks and refreshments will be available.

On some occasions we may request that you return for a follow-up additional test which would be much shorter in length.

When can I have my assessment?

The wait time for dyslexia assessments can vary, and we occasionally have some late availability, please contact us and we recommend that you don’t delay so that you can get your preferred date.

When will I receive the results?

While our assessors can sometimes get a general feel for what an outcome may look like, it’s not possible to give any indications on the day. To see the full picture we must wait until all the assessments have been reviewed and scored, and this worked in with the unique history of the person being assessed.

Following this the basis of your individually written report begins. This is a process that cannot be templated as everyone is unique with their outcomes and onward recommendations – so we normally say this part of the process will take around 4 weeks.

At what age can dyslexia be assessed for?

Dyslexic traits can be identifiable in children as young as 5-6 years. Should children continue to show difficulty with reading, spelling and writing at age 8, then a formal dyslexia assessment should be considered. In light of the pandemic and the missed schooling that many children experienced, in our professional opinion we have increased the age from 7 to 8 in order that the results are accurate. We believe that any younger than this it may not give a true reflection of your child.

There is no upper age limit for dyslexia testing, and we regularly assess adults who are significantly through their adult life and careers, from all walks of life. Indeed for many adults it can be a very emotional and useful process to go through, shining a light on prior struggles and helping answer questions they have had their whole life.

What payment options are there?

We have easy payment methods to suit everyone, from bank transfer, to credit & debit card or even spread your cost over four payments by Direct Debit.

Your assessment date is secured once you have either paid a deposit or the full amount.

  • Bank transfer – we’ll issue you an invoice, and it’s simply a case of transferring the amount due.
  • Credit / Debit card – again we’ll issue you an invoice, but this time there’s a payment button to use your card (inc. Apple Pay or Google Pay).
  • Direct Debit (4 part payment) – your first payment is due upon booking, this is by credit or debit card. Following this we’ll automatically collect the 3 remaining payments each month there afterwards.
What happens if the results are inconclusive or negative?

In the event that the results of the assessment are inconclusive, we may invite you back for some additional tests, but this does not apply to everyone.

If this is not the correct course of action, or the assessment indicates that you are not dyslexic, we’ll discuss with you what the outcome means, and in your report there will still be some guidance as to what can be done to assist with your specific needs. For children there is some further options available, which can include accessing our specialist alternative provision on a part-time basis during the normal school week, you can read more about this here.

If the result is positive, what next?

Receiving a positive result that dyslexia has been identified can be an emotional time, but overall people find it a liberating experience, and with the right direction and help, dyslexia can be an extra string to your bow.

Included in your report will be strategies that you can use to assist in your day to day life, and assist in learning environments. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have.

For children we offer access to our Toucan Hub, this is what’s know as an alternative provision, where children spend part of their normal school week with our specialist teachers. This does carry a cost, but we can also accept childcare vouchers which can help offset this.

Who will deliver the assessment

Your dyslexia test will be carried out by one of Toucan Education’s dyslexia specialists who are trained in this speciality and have continual professional development in order to maintain the highest standards.

If you need an educational psychologist to deliver your test due to a specific legal requirement, these are available at a higher cost of £650. Please be aware that the wait time for assessments by educational psychologist can be longer. Unless you have a specific requirement to use one, we feel that most people will benefit more by assessed by one of our dyslexia specialists.

Can the dyslexia assessment result be used for extra time in exams?

Yes! Our diagnostic dyslexia assessment results can be used to give you extra time in exams. Please speak with us about this to get further information and to ensure suitability.

How much does it cost and are there payment options?

We know that for many, the cost of a dyslexia test can be difficult to account for, so for this reason we offer several different payment options to make this as easy as possible. We continue to try and keep the cost at a level that is as affordable as possible.

The standard cost for a dyslexia test is £500

Payment Options

Four Part Payment

Spread the cost over four payments. Pay a deposit now to secure assessment date (bank transfer, credit or debit card), with the balance spread over three further monthly payments by Direct Debit

Deposit

Pay a deposit now to secure assessment date, with the balance due before assessment date (bank transfer, credit or debit card)

Full Amount

Pay the full amount due upon booking (bank transfer, credit or debit card)

  • This includes:
  • Pre-assessment screening call for adults and pre-assessment screening questionnaire for children where applicable

  • Assessment carried out at our dedicated hub, school, workplace or virtually (10+ only)

  • Additional follow-up tests if required

  • Easy to understand full written diagnostic report

  • Feedback call to discuss if needed

  • Suggestions and strategies irrespective of the result

  • Feedback given to schools or employers if requested

  • Ongoing email support and advice

Together we can

We have worked with Toucan Education for over a year now. Philippa has screened and profiled over 10 children for us. We have always found her to be professional and thorough in her assessments with an appropriate manner for the children. Feedback to the parents has been excellent. The training given to TA’s and programmes left for them to deliver have allowed some of our pupils with the most profound reading difficulties to make progress.

Mr R Bollands, Headteacher, Red Row First School

I am feeling relieved with the outcome, it feels like finally being understood. Thank you very much for your kind words in the confirmation of diagnostic decision, it really warmed my heart. Also thank you for your time and professionalism.

Anonymous parent

“Thank you so much for today, we are both relieved today to understand ourselves more and the paths we have taken in life and why we get so tired because we work so hard and others make it look easy . ***** was over the
moon and we are both so interested to know what we are good at and our difficulties.

Thanks again for your time, patience and
making it pain free , I enjoyed it !! Spend all my time dealing with other people’s struggles so nice to look at my own for once. You are lovely and so calming

Anonymous parent

“Thank you so much Philippa. Wehave both read through the report a few times and couldn’t agree more with
everything that’s written. I feel like it was definitely the right decision to get it done and the right timing. It’ll give her the best chance to succeed now. I don’t know what I would have done without all your support and guidance over the years. Thanks so much.“

Anonymous parent

“Just wanted to drop a quick email to say
thanks! We’ve had time to go through **** report and it is so so informative. It’s hard to explain but you’ve managed to highlight and explain all of the struggles that we’ve noticed ****** experiencing but have been unable to articulate. I can only see her situation improving not only with the recommendations that you’ve provided but with ***** being aware that she isn’t ‘thick’ (as she’s said before) or that she isn’t as good as her peers which again she has said before.

I can’t express my thanks enough, throughout this whole process your commitment, dedication and expertise has shone through and it’s all been so seamless, what was a daunting prospect has actually been made so much less so.

I don’t know what else to say other than
you’ve made a tricky and worrying situation that much easier for us as a family and for that we’re truly grateful.“

Anonymous parent

“I found the service to be excellent
from start to finish. I was anxious
that I may not have time to get my
support in place ahead of my
September start date but was
pleasantly surprised to find that
within 24 hours of contacting via
email I had been booked in for my
assessment.

On the day Philippa was mindful of
the fact that the assessment may
have been challenging in parts. I
was very impressed with the way
she took the pains to understand
my experiences and issues to date
and how they may impact me in the
future.“

Anonymous parent

Initially we were questioning whether we had done the right thing getting him diagnosed. I knew he would have likely been fine without the diagnosis and struggled through. Now I am so glad we did. If nothing else his change in attitude will take him where he wants to be. He believes he can achieve and that is the biggest asset he has.

Anonymous parent

More Information

Subscribe for News & Updates


©  Toucan Education Limited. All rights reserved.

Subscribe for News & Updates