Evaluating Dyslexia

Many times throughout the school year, school psychologists find themselves evaluating for reading disabilities and maybe even for dyslexia specifically. There seem to be many questions about the term dyslexia and whether it’s appropriate for a school psychologist to use. Have you wondered if the term can be used during an IEP meeting or within a psychoeducational report? Let’s take a closer look at some other challenges school psychs may face when assessing a student for dyslexia. 

Processing Areas and Reading Skills

Throughout your career as a school psychologist, you have learned just how critical processing areas are for understanding how a child learns. But are there any processing areas that correlate directly with dyslexia? How do these processing areas affect a student’s ability to read? Are there certain skills associated with reading success that may not be obvious to the team? Which strengths and weaknesses impact a student’s ability to read?

Evidence-Based Interventions

After completing the assessment process, the IEP team concludes that the student presents with dyslexia which impacts his or her ability to learn. But how is dyslexia being addressed at your school site? If your school is not currently using any programs, where can school psychs learn more about potential evidence-based programs? These are only a few of the challenges school psychologists face during the assessment process.

Assessing students for dyslexia can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! Are you ready to review some logistics to keep in mind when assessing students for dyslexia? Do you want immediate access to my hand-out, 3 Tips for Evaluating Dyslexia? If so, fill out the form below for tips you can implement into your practice today! Take the next step in becoming a more prepared school psychologist!