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.

In 2021, SASC (the governing body that oversees the BDA and PATOSS), approved for remote assessments to be equally recognised and valid as in-person assessments. This means that schools, colleges, universities and workplaces recognise a remote assessment as equally valid to an in person assessment.

The main difference between the two assessment approaches is the that the remote assessment requires both the assessor and assesse to have a minimum of a 14” screen and to meet together online via Zoom. There are some other minor differences, such as one of the non-verbal subtests that uses physical shapes is not required for remote assessments.

Once you have contacted us to express an interest in an assessment, we will pass your details to an assessor. They will contact you to agree a time and date for the assessment (see below). They will also send you a background questionnaire and invoice for payment.

24 hours prior to the assessment, the assessor will send you a link to the meeting.

A full dyslexia assessment usually takes around two and a half hours including rest breaks. It consists of a series of standardised tests that will highlight the client’s areas of strength and difficulty. Dyslexia assessments are not ‘tests’ that give a yes/no answer; they are focused on understanding an individual’s abilities and finding positive ways forward. Areas covered are visual and verbal abilities, phonological awareness, working memory, processing speed, reading, writing, spelling and handwriting. Based upon the results of these assessments, along with background information that includes learning history and observations made, a full profile of a person’s strengths and areas of difficulty is obtained.

To complete a remote assessment you will need:

• A large (minimum 14” screen) tablet, laptop or desktop computer with a strong WiFi signal and suitable microphone, camera and speaker/headphone facilities. Smaller tablets, iPad minis and phones are not acceptable for the testing element of these remote sessions.
• A mobile phone in case there are difficulties with the internet connection.
• You must be alone, in a quiet room, during the remote assessment and arrange to not be interrupted. However, for clients under 18 years of age, a facilitator needs to be present in a nearby location ready to support with any technical aspects of the remote assessment. They may need to be available at a time agreed prior to the assessment session for a discussion with the assessor regarding their role.
• Unless instructed by the assessor, you must put away and turn off other smart devices such as a mobile phone or tablet during the assessment. At the end of the session, you will be required to retrieve your phone to take photos of some of your written work. Once these are safely received, we will ask you to delete these photos.
• All assessment content must remain confidential and must not be shared by you with anyone else. You will not record the remote session nor take any screenshots or photos of the testing materials or the assessor. If this is suspected, the assessor will immediately end the assessment and the assessment will be void.
• You will need to have a pad of lined paper and pens available during the assessment.
• If you wear glasses for computer work and reading, you will need to have them with you and be wearing them during the assessment. If it is your normal way of working to use a coloured overlay or coloured glasses for reading, you will need to have these with you during the assessment.

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.

Dyslexia UK’s owner, Keir Williams, 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.

Dyslexia UK’s GDPR Privacy Policy can be downloaded here