Dyslexia Assessment

This course is for beginners who would like to understand Dyslexia Assessment. The Course is delivered in accessible language and aims to demystify the process of Dyslexia Assessment. It covers the definition of dyslexia and its symptoms and it also comments on Dyslexia Observation and Checklists. It then explains what testing means and the different types of tests as well as the importance and the process of dyslexia assessment. The difference between screening and full psycho-educational evaluation is explained as well as the various components of dyslexia assessment and its steps. For the definition part, the course provides examples of two definitions: The first proposed by the International Dyslexia Association which is based in the US and is by far the biggest and oldest non-profit organization for dyslexia globally and the second one is the definition of the British Dyslexia Association which is the oldest organization of its kind in Europe. Based on the definition, the course then moves to provide in details various signs and symptoms of dyslexia that are useful for both parents and educators alike so that they watch out for such signs inside the classroom and at home and if possible, as early as they can. However, the course also warns against judging or labeling students to have dyslexia based on observed signs only as the assessment of dyslexia has different types but the one that is accurate is the one conducted by professionals who studied dyslexia and its manifestation and that can be either carried by licensed educational psychologists or by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals which may include psychologists, neurologists, speech and language specialists, educational diagnosticians, teachers and pediatricians. The course provides in detail differences between screening and full evaluation and calls for the importance of early identification of dyslexia.