My child  has had their  Diagnostic Assessment – what next?

My child has had their Diagnostic Assessment – what next?

Part 3

If your child has been assessed the report should be available within two to three weeks of the assessment. If it is later than that you should chase it up. The outcome and results of your report will be different for every person and the assessment will produce a unique profile, in the form of probably a 20 -30 page written report. You may have been given some initial feedback after the assessment, and should be able to ask the assessor for clarification of any part of the report when you get it.

The report should be clearly written with accessible language that makes transparent the areas in which the child or adult has strengths as well as challenges.

It should also contain very clear guidelines and suggestions for structured and well-tested interventions so that teachers, parents , and the child themselves can have a very clear understanding of the way forward.?

The recommendations should be clearly set out under targeted headings, like the ones suggested below:

·??????Specialist teaching and support

·??????Classroom/mainstream/general academic support and adjustments

·??????Assistive technology or resources that might help

·??????Exam Access Arrangements ( final decision on these is up to the school)

·??????Strategies that might help at home

·??????Future considerations – especially when transition is to be made to Secondary School or FE/HE.

·??????Any further referrals .


What might a further referral be?

This might be to a paediatric occupational therapist (OT) if, for example, dyspraxia is suspected in a child . In addition, there may be referrals made to behavioural optometrists if visual difficulties are present. They may also be referred to the??GP for possible attention deficit disorder or autistic difficulties as these can co-occur with Dyslexia.?

Interpreting the report

Your report may show the tests results using a graph and you will be able to see the ‘spiky profile’ normally associated with a specific learning difficulty. Here there will be peaks and troughs where your child has strengths as well as limitations.?


The results will be reported in Standard Scores, which are?calculated by taking the raw?score?and transforming it to a common scale. A standard score between 90 and 110 is within the mid-average range.?


You may see a discrepancy between some scores and for the dyslexic child this is normal where they have strengths in some areas such as vocabulary, but relative weaknesses in other areas assessed including attainment and attainment.


You may also see percentile scores discussed, These compare your child’s score with a hundred children of the same age where the 50th?percentile is the mid-point score and is within the average range. This is equivalent to a Standard Score of 100 which is the mid-point of the Standard Score range.

How the report is structured

The report you receive will have a detachable summary at the beginning of the report which will give a diagnostic decision about your child.?

At the back of the report will be a list of recommendations and a summary table of results.?

You will be encouraged to show the report to your child’s school and these recommendations will hopefully be taken on board .

What kind of recommendations might be made?

These vary according to the age the individual needs of the child but will generally include some recommendations for a teaching programme that is structured, cumulative and multisensory.?

For the child who has difficulty writing quickly and legibly, touch typing is often recommended using a programme like Touch Type Read and Spell (TTRS) so that using a laptop becomes their ‘normal way of working’.

Other recommendations might be for Exam Access Arrangements such as additional time or a reader or scribe. These ultimately will be up to the school to decide according to the child’s normal way of working.

Explaining the diagnosis to your child

It is very important that your child is made aware of the whole process and what it actually means. The assessor will ask your child how they feel about their difficulties and the child’s voice is an important part of the assessment report. The results of the testing should be shared with your child as it may help improve their motivation and self-esteem.

Working with your child’s school after the Diagnostic Assessment

Recommendations for class teachers may include:

·??????Giving less verbal Instructions and breaking information down into smaller steps

·??????Less copying from the whiteboard

·??????Help with putting homework in planners

·??????Working with a TA or specialist teacher on a structured, cumulative and multisensory teaching programme

·??????Using assistive technology

For older children there may be suggestions for study skills to help with organisation and planning, reading techniques and exam strategies.

A school may not take on board the recommendations of a privately commissioned report but most do. You can find out more about what to do if your child’s school is refusing to accept a Diagnostic Assessment report on the British Dyslexia Association website,?https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/.?

How to book a Diagnostic Assessment

Positive Dyslexia have a child questionnaire on their website?www.positivedyslexia.co.uk?to fill out if you are interested in an assessment. The BDA , ADC (?www.adc.org.uk?) and??Helen Arkell also carry out full diagnostic assessments. They may be able to help with Bursaries also.?


Disabled Students Allowance

In time your child may go to University and the report will be able to be used to apply for??Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) through Student Finance (?www.gov.uk) if the assessor had a current APC ( or were HCPC registered) at time of writing the report. You can check if an APC is current by going to?www.sasc.org.uk?. You can be assessed by someone without an APC and with a Level 7 qualification only, but they should point out that the report cannot be used for DSA. Check that they have Active AMBDA though as this means they have done a BDA Accredited course and kept their Continuing Professional Development up to date .

Hopefully your child’s report will be able to be used for a good number of years and be a passport to many additional resources and support . Expect to pay around £400-600 depending on the area you live in and around £1000 for an Educational Psychologist report.

Always happy to answer any questions around assessment!


Katrina Cochrane

June 2022

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