We find assessment results to be more reliable when a child works independently with the assessor. This is a less inhibiting and stressful experience than being ‘on show’. We would respectfully ask a parent to return after the time allotted for an assessment.

After time spent putting the child at ease, a series of tests will be undertaken to look at specific skills and any potential weaknesses. These will be a mix of informal and formal standardised assessments. The assessor will be looking for a particular profile or pattern of results that suggest a dyslexic difficulty. If there are any other reasons for reading or spelling problems, we will also examine that. Answers to questionnaires completed by parents and teachers before the assessment will provide invaluable additional background information.

Most children will say that they have had fun doing the assessment! The tests used are not ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, and children will be continually reassured as they go through the assessment process.

Please be reassured that children will not be made to feel inadequate in any way. Great care will be taken to maintain their confidence, boost their self-esteem and make the whole experience an enjoyable one!

The assessor will briefly ask your child which test they enjoyed most and whether they found any particularly difficult. In gaining and giving feedback to a child, particular focus will be on what s/he did well in the assessment. At this point, the tests will not have been marked and analysed, so it will not be possible to give definitive results of the assessment. If the subsequent report confirms that a child does have a dyslexic difficulty, there can be a sense of relief and the whole assessment procedure can be very positive. Children, in particular, find it helpful to understand that their difficulties are not generalised, but specific, and that given the right help and support, they can learn strategies to improve skills.

Yes. You will receive a detailed report of the assessment results, what they mean and any recommendations for further help. The report will usually be around ten pages long, plus various appendices. There will be a summary table of standardised test scores, followed by details of the tests undertaken, with implications of test results. Some of these details can seem quite technical, but we strive at all times to minimise jargon and make the report as ‘user-friendly’ as possible!

Where applicable, recommendations will also be made regarding teaching programmes and resources that may help with a specific learning difficulty.

The report will be sent by email as a secure attachment in ‘PDF’ format, with a printed version also available by post for a small additional charge if required.

Dyslexia is recognised as a disability under the 2010 Equality Act. This means that schools, colleges, universities and workplaces are legally required to make reasonable adjustments to support an individual. A diagnosis of dyslexia lasts for life and the assessment report can be used throughout school, university and the workplace. It is not necessary to have another assessment report later in life.

A dyslexia report is a confidential document. As determined under the GDPR, the dyslexia assessment report will be private to the client. In the case of the assessee being a child of 17 or younger, their parents will be sent the report. It is recommended that the client shares the report with relevant parties (schools/universities/the workplace etc).

As a person progresses through school, they may require extra support in examinations. These are known as access arrangements. Access arrangements exist to provide reasonable adjustments to allow equality of access to assessment in GCSE and GCE (A Level), examinations. They include extra time (usually 25%), a reader, a scribe, a word processor, a prompter, rest breaks, amongst other support measures. Schools are governed by strict Joint Council for Qualification (JCQ) regulations. Access arrangements must not only reflect need, but also their ‘normal way of working’. It is the school’s responsibility to assess and apply for access arrangements.

If you think your child needs help in examinations, it is essential that you talk to the SENCO.  A diagnostic assessment report will highlight a person’s needs and will specify how they can best be supported in examinations, including recommendations for access arrangements.

School’s need to apply to the examination boards for access arrangements. They will either complete the relevant testing and paperwork in-house, or employ an external assessor. Many of our dyslexia assessors work closely with schools in providing access arrangement assessments and can be contacted by SENCOs to provide this service.

MDP Dyslexia Assessments’ owner, Miles Dunfield-Prayero, is registered with the Information Commissioners Office and all personal information collected is be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), May 2018.

MDP Dyslexia Assessments’ GDPR Privacy Policy can be seen here

I operate across South London and any accessible areas of Surrey.

I am also able to travel within the London Underground Network. Get in touch to find out if I’m able to come to you.

Yes, of course. Just get in touch.

In my experience, people tend to fall into two camps. The first type want to have a long chat about their issues (or their child’s issues), to establish that they are making the correct choice to come for a dyslexia assessment. The second type want me to know nothing about them/their child, so that they can rely on my impartial judgement. Either approach is fine.

I commit to completing the report within 15 working days. I do not give a verbal indication due to the need to fully analyse all the test results.

I ask for a deposit of £40 to secure a date then the full assessment fee is payable one working day before the assessment. Payment may be made via bank transfer or cash.

In general, I only assess children aged 7 and up.

However, many parents of younger children come to me, concerned about dyslexia. The younger the child is, the harder it can be to prove that issues are due to dyslexia, rather than different rates of child development or other issues.

For a younger child, the labelling process may be difficult. But it can be extremely worthwhile to produce a shorter (non-diagnostic) report with detailed recommendations for how best to help your child now, even if it is hard to label them as dyslexic. For some younger children, tutoring is best solution, to see whether with a bit of very targeted specialist support they can close the gap. 

I use a rigorous suite of highly-regarded diagnostic tests. These include an underlying ability test, reading tests, spelling test, rapid naming tests, phonological processing tests, short-term and working memory tests.

Other tests that can be added on are writing/handwriting tests, maths tests, visual tests (processing speed, memory, visual perception, visual-motor integration, visual stress), motor tests, and extra memory tests.

Here are some of the tests that I currently select from:

• Access Mathematics Tests
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – WIAT 3Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, 6th Edition (Beery VMI)
• Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing – Second Edition (CTOPP-2)
• Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH) or DASH 17+
• Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB)
  
• Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT)
  
• Test of Memory and Learning – Second Edition (TOMAL-2)
• Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE-2)
• Wide Range Intelligence Test (WRIT)
  

Most schools prefer to spend their (limited) special educational needs budget on interventions and assistive technology, rather than on testing. This is understandable, but it can be frustrating for parents.

As a result, the kind of dyslexia assessments you get in school tend to vary a great deal. They are often quick computer screeners. Alternatively, an Educational Psychologist may be involved, but often he/she simply looks at your child’s books, observes them in class and administers a handful of tests. It is important that you check whether your child is getting definitive dyslexia testing or just a progress check.

No. I follow the well-respected BDA  & Rose Report definition of dyslexia, I am very well-qualified, up-to-date with current research, and I’ve had to prove this extensively to the British Dyslexia Association and the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (PATOSS).

Unfortunately, there are lots of myths about dyslexia floating around. One is that dyslexia is over-diagnosed. In fact, research shows that dyslexia is very common and still vastly under-reported.

If you are worried, you may want to have an Initial Dyslexia Screening first. This can be converted into a full report later, if appropriate.

This is a common concern and I’m certainly not in the business of taking money from people for possibly the cost of an unnecessary assessment report.

Lots of parents know in their gut, but worry that they might be wrong. This is why I have taken the unconventional step of offering, when requested, to split the process in half and charge for the assessment and the report separately.

In so doing, your child gets a very detailed assessment, which puts your mind at ease.  Then if dyslexia turns out to not be the correct label, you will then have the choice of still receiving a full written report or instead receiving a copy of their results together with verbal feedback on their strengths/weaknesses, how to help, and what the next steps might be.  

The report will provide evidence of your child’s dyslexic profile (if they have been confirmed as having dyslexia), signposting to other organisations or further assessments for other learning difficulties (if required), and will include some recommendations about how to support them in the context of their study and/or day-to-day life.