Tests A Professional Evaluator Will Use To Determine If Your Child Has Dyslexia

Your child might be smarter than you think. There are some children who have a hard time learning in school because they suffer from a condition called dyslexia. Dyslexia can cause the child to have a difficult reading, spelling, and pronouncing words. The earlier a child is properly diagnosed with having dyslexia, the sooner proper therapy can begin to help mitigate the effects of the condition. However, not all learning disabilities are caused by dyslexia, and you'll need to have a child tested for the condition before a proper diagnosis can take place. Here is what a professional evaluator trained in testing for dyslexia will do to determine if your child suffers from dyslexia. 

Aptitude Test

An aptitude, or IQ, test is used to measure your child's intelligence. The aptitude test measures a large range of mental abilities besides those involving reading, spelling, and speaking. The tests include matching shapes and sizes, using pictures to determine answers, mathematical question, and word comprehension.

The reason for using an aptitude test is to measure your child's intelligence level. Many children with dyslexia will score higher on most portions of this test than they will on the reading portion. This signifies that the problems in school may not be related to their intellectual abilities.

Visual Test

Your child's eye sight will be tested to make sure they don't have a visual problem. Children, especially young children, may not realize they are having difficulty seeing things. A child who can't see the chalk board, or properly see the words in a book, will naturally have a problem reading those words.

Hearing Test

Your child's ability to hear and distinguish sounds will also be tested and measured to make sure they don't have a hearing problem.

Behavioral Issues

Any behavioral issues will also be evaluated. The evaluator will want to know if your child is regularly attending school, or if the may have other behavioral issues related to mental or emotional issues that could affect their ability to focus on learning new things.

Reading Test

An additional reading test is used to measure the grade level your child has mastered.

The professional evaluator will use all the information provided to determine if your child is suffering from dyslexia.  If your child scores high on the aptitude test, and there aren't any other mitigating factors like poor vision, hearing, or behavioral issues to explain the gap between the aptitude test and their reading ability, the professional evaluator may then deduce that your child is suffering from dyslexia. Your child can then be placed into a program to help them succeed at learning and school.