My Services
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Full Cognitive Assessment (to assess for and enable a diagnosis of Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulty).
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Access Arrangements Assessment (to assess for the possibility of extra time or other exam concessions at GCSE, A Level or University level).
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School Inset Training for teachers and support staff.
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School visit to work directly with pupils with a Specific or Suspected Learning Difficulty.
Full Cognitive Assessment: £700
The full assessment will determine if Dyslexia is present and will enable a formal diagnosis to be made. The full assessment covers assessing verbal and non-verbal ability, memory, processing speed and phonological awareness, and also assesses attainment levels (where a student is grade-wise in the classroom) covering spelling, reading, writing and maths. All information and results are compared in order to provide a clear diagnosis, flag areas for further investigation, for example, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy, or possibly a combination of both. The assessment usually happens in one day, taking approximately three hours, and the report is a thorough explanation of results with recommendations, usually around 25 pages.
School Inset Training and School Visit:
Prices discussed on an individual basis.
Prior to any assessment, a personal and/or educational background history is completed, which contributes towards the report. The whole assessment process will end with a clear understanding of what the challenges are, and how to naviagate and support these challenges going forward.
My assessment reports are clear and concise, which enables parents and older students to access easily. I want parents and older students with a diagnosis to be confident in what the report means, and to be able to refer to the report when they meet with teachers and other professionals. Reports can often use specialist language and terminology which may confuse, whereas I aim to provide a report that clearly but coherently explains each difficulty and ways forward. Once parents and students are empowered they can then advocate for their child or themselves in an informed manner.
Once you have a full assessment and suggestions to support any diagnosis, you will understand what support is needed to progress. The report can be given to teachers to allow them to understand more clearly what students need, which will then enable the introduction of specific learning techniques that will help the student. Some of these techniques may be complex but some can be quite simple but effective. For example, the report may identify that “tactile learning” suits a student, and ‘feeling’ letter shapes, or making letter shaped cookies, or a 3-D model can be introduced into the classroom. For older students simple techniques such as regular verbal summaries whereby the student can consolidate learning and help “lock it in” to their memory can be implemented. For post-16 students, something simple like taping lectures and then listening to the recording at a later stage to create a mind map has immediate positive impact.
The important thing is that the report identifies where the help is needed, which is the beginning of overcoming the difficulties and allowing the student to succeed.