Why is it so hard to identify dyslexia? I often tell my clients it is because dyslexia is found in the subtests. But what does that mean? It means if you only look at composite scores on psychological and educational evaluations, you may not see evidence of dyslexia.

When requesting an evaluation, if you suspect dyslexia, specify testing areas you hope to see. If your child has already been tested, don't worry, it is never too late to ask for more DATA!

It's important to note when requesting educational evaluations, you generally cannot request specific tests, but you can request testing for particular abilities and capabilities.

Here are five areas you should ask for: Phonological processing, decoding, orthographic processing, comprehension, and rapid naming.

There are three kinds of reading-related phonological processing: phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming.

Phonological awareness is the ability to access the sound and structure of phonology in one's own language. It helps identify how words are spoken, such as cap, map, and tap. Phonological processing is the ability to identify the same and different sounds in each word. It is the ability to take larger words and break them into smaller pieces, compound words into individual words, individual words into syllables, identify rhyming words, and identify phonemes within each word. Targeting phonological awareness early in the learning process can help mitigate the severity of reading problems later.

Phonological memory is the process of coding information phonologically for temporary storage in your memory. Remembering a code, password, or someone's name would be an example of using your phonological memory. You also use this phonological memory when learning sounds that makeup words you read.

Rapid naming of digits, letters, objects, and colors requires retrieving phonological information from your permanent memory. This retrieval process is used when retrieving the pronunciation of words or parts of words when you read them.

There are many phonological assessment tools out there; one of the most common is the CTOPP. When requesting testing, I generally ask for this specific test by name but add, "or something like it."

Decoding is the ability to look at print and rapidly match each letter or combination of letters to the sounds they go with, recognizing patterns each syllable and word makes.

There are a plethora of decoding assessments available to assessors. One of the critical components of a decoding assessment should be that it includes both real and nonsense words to decode.

Orthographic processing is the ability to visually recognize and remember words and parts of words. It's the ability to immediately recognize letter patterns and sequences and spell phonetically regular and irregular words.
The most common assessment given for orthographic processing is the test of orthographic competence or TOC. Again, I ask for this test by name and always include "or something like it."

Reading comprehension is a complex testing area. The ability to assess a child's comprehension skills is dependent on many variables. The length and complexity of the reading passage, if the child is reading silently or aloud, the student's interest in the subject matter, the format in which the material is presented on the page, and the types of questions asked to assess comprehension.

Although there are many assessments available to test reading comprehension, and these scores can help determine the likelihood of dyslexia, as an advocate, I also ask for informal classroom data on grade-level material. So often, we find in formal testing that passages have been simplified or shortened to accommodate the test setting and requirements. Because of this oversight I would reach out to your child's teacher and ask them to take detailed notes on your child's ability to read grade-level material and comprehend facts and implied information within the text.
Rapid naming has a very common assessment given called random automatized naming or RAN. The RAN is given not only for students being tested for dyslexia but also for students being tested for executive functioning issues and/or slow processing speed. It tests the ability to quickly name, out loud, familiar items shown on a page. These images could be letters, numbers, colors, objects, or a myriad of other things children are familiar with.

The RAN assesses performance based on how fast a child can name, in the correct order, each item presented on the page, compared to other children of the same age. Children with reading difficulties, executive functioning difficulties, or slow processing speed, will generally score lower on the RAN than their peers.

I know this is a lot of information to process. It can be overwhelming for a parent new to the dyslexia or IEP game. But don't worry. You never have to IEP alone. If you need help, set up a meeting with me to chat about testing, eligibility, accommodations, and IEP services for your child. I want to hear your story and share a bit of what I have learned while working in this field over the years.