Dyslexia test, Free online – might my child be dyslexic?

 

Dyslexia Help - If your child shows dyslexia symptoms, you can help with reading and spelling.

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There are many different dyslexia tests and other assessment tools for dyslexia available either online or via dyslexia organisations.

 

Below are listed some areas of difficulty to look out for relating specifically to reading and spelling, together with some activities you can complete with your child, to test whether he or she might need further assessment and support in reading and spelling. Dyslexia can also cause date and time confusion, organisational problems, difficulties following verbal instructions and may cause other symptoms.

 

Please note that this dyslexia test is meant as a helpful guide, rather than a definitive diagnostic tool. For further information, please contact me at info@dancingkites.co.uk or visit the websites listed on the links page at http://www.dancingkites.co.uk/links

 

Mini dyslexia test

Dyslexia symptoms to look out for:

 

• Does the child guess at a word, looking at the whole word or just the initial letter?
• Does he/she forget how to read or spell a word as soon as he/she has turned the page?
• Can he/she find it hard to sound out individual letters in simple 3 letter words e.g. cat, bat?
• Does the child find it hard to rhyme simple words?
• Does he/she skip little words, such as and, the?
• Does he/she miss out words when reading?

 

These are all potential dyslexia symptoms. The presence of any, most or all of them does not necessarily mean your child is dyslexic, but it is recommended you investigate further for possible reasons, depending on the child’s age.

 

The following is a list of activities to complete with your child. Print off and mark down the results discreetly as you go through the tasks with your child.

 

Identifying letter names and letter sounds

Can your child say the name and sound for each letter of the alphabet? If not, this is likely to be affecting their ability to read and spell effectively. This may not be caused by dyslexia, but would highlight the need for further learning nonetheless.

 

Print out another copy of the letters in the order as shown and get them to say first the sounds all the way through, then the names. Note down any gaps or mistakes on your copy.
 

Working memory

This is often poor with dyslexic students. This dyslexia test will assess the ability to process new and possibly unrelated information effectively.

 

If your child cannot repeat back more than 3 numbers in a row, then this is a possible indicator of poor working memory.

 

Say these numbers slowly to your child, one line at a time, and note down how many he/she gets right.

 

3 – 8

2 - 6 - 1

4 - 7 - 3 - 9

1 - 9 - 4 - 2 - 5

3 - 7 - 5 - 6 - 9 - 2

 

Now repeat the task with the numbers below. This time the child needs to say them back to you in reverse order e.g. 1 – 5 would be 5 – 1.

 

4 - 7

0 - 3 - 8

4 - 7 - 2 - 9

3 - 9 - 3 - 1 - 0

4 - 1 - 0 - 5 - 7 - 2

Sound blending

Can your child blend sounds i.e if you say the individual sounds d – o – g can they say the word dog?

 

Sound out the following words and get your child to say the word. Note down if they are correct.

 

c – a – t

sh – o – p

b – a – b – y

d – i – nn – er

 

Sound discrimination 1

Can they tell the difference between words just by listening?

 

Say the words in pairs and get them to tell you if they are the “same” or “different”.
Note down their answers.

 

fun fun

no bow

shut just

big big

sing thing

 

Sound discrimination 2

Can your child tell the odd one out just by listening? The following is an example of the first letter being different in one of the words. The correct answer is bat.

cat cut cot bat

 

Read out the following words and get them to tell you which is the odd one out.
Note it down on your copy.

ham has hat tap

fig fit kid fix

Repeat for the following, where the last letter is different. Note down their answer on your copy.

mug sun bun fun

hen pen net den

Repeat for the following, where the middle letter is different. Note down their answer on your copy.

rat mat cot hat

jug rug mug peg

 

If you suspect your child may be struggling with reading and spelling because of dyslexia, we advise speaking to their school or another educational professional to discuss a formal dyslexia test. 

 

If these test show signs of dyslexia symptoms, you can help your child using our Dancing Kites Creative Learning books.  Please visit our shop!

 

Assessments at The Chilterns IDL (Dyslexia) Centre

I assess children and adults at The Chilterns IDL (Dyslexia) Centre before embarking on a programme of remedial help. I complete each dyslexia test above in more depth, as well as the activities outlined below.

 

Coloured filters

Some children and adults benefit from using a coloured overlay on a page. I show them a choice of colours and they choose the one that works best for them. This works particularly where the person has visual processing difficulties. It can relieve visual distress.

 

I check their preferred letter size for reading.

 

I ask the child or adult if there are any problems with letters moving around on the page or with the spacing and alignment of margins and lines .

 

I see if they know the following:

 

• Vowels
• Times tables
• Days of the week
• Months of the year

 

I also assess whether they might be cross-lateral, which is another possible indicator of dyslexia.

 

Spelling age

I measure their spelling age.

 

Reading age

I measure their reading age.

 

For more information on the work I do with individuals, visit www.cstraining.info/dyslexia_support.html

 

Further exercises can be found on the Activities page http://www.dancingkites.co.uk/activities

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