How do I get my daughter tested for dyslexia?

Question

My daughter may be dyslexic, her school said I should get her tested by a doctor, but has not told me what kind. Even after I asked them point plank!! Very frustrating

Tried our regular family doctor and he did not know either!! Beginning to think that professionals don't think that it really exsists.

Apparently our school system does not do the testing. Her teachers did not even know what to look for! I do not have alot of confidence in this schools teachers right now! I pointed out that she had some of the symptoms, her father has it.

Answer 1

Here are some things to consider. First of all, how old is your daughter? Reversals of letters can be age-appropriate in 6 and 7 year olds. Some may even write their names completely backwards. This is a developmental issue and does not indicate dyslexia.

Next, think about how your daughter hears sounds. Can she find rhyming words? Can she identify the first sound in spoken words? Can she remember simple poems and fingerplays? If the answer to all of these questions is yes, that is a good sign. If the answer is no, then you should be more concerned. Dyslexia is characterized by a problem in processing language, and one of the biggest predictors is a problem with phonological awareness, or hearing sounds in words.

Next, look at how your child handles books and reading. Can she recognize letters? Does she have a working knowledge of sight words? Can she point to words as she reads and show a one-to-one correspondence? (That is, given a text, "My name is Mandy," can she point to the words and say the correct one?) If you are not sure of appropriate books, go to readinga-z.com and download one of their free books to print and try. Start at Level aa and move up from there.

Your daughter's school should have done some kind of screening or reading testing. Ask to see her DIBELS scores, DRA, or any other kind of reading test. If they are not doing any assessment...well, then how do they know if students are learning anything? If they offer you some scores, ask about how they compare to typical child of the same age.

You may request that your child be tested for special education. If you are in the US, they would probably look for a "discrepancy" between your child's expected level of performance and her actual level of performance. In young readers, this might be hard to find, as they're not expected to be able to read very much...and reversals and problems are developmental and to be expected to a certain degree. The current discrepancy model is not especially good at recognizing dyslexia.

As another option, see if any local colleges or universities offer programs for teachers to become certified as reading specialists. These programs often require teachers to work at a reading clinic, often held during the summer, and there may be people who are willing to work with your daughter as part of their coursework.

Check out this website for more information and help.
http://www.dys-add.com/define.html
Good luck! Learn all that you can and continue to be an advocate for your daughter.

Answer 2

The best you can do if your daughter is in public school is talk to the Principal. If he/she can not recommend someone, then you should go to the board of education or the head of your district. I would be very surprised that the school would suggest she be tested, and not offer any more information. It is the public schools responsibility to coordinate you with a learning disabilities specialist to set up some testing for your daughter. The sooner the better because there are alot of positive things that can be done to help her if it's caught early. By "doctor", the person who runs these tests has a doctorate degree in either childhood phycscolgy or in Educational physcology. Another option is a neurologist. But your best bet is to be extremely persistent w/ the district for a recommendation. Good luck!

Answer 3

You do this through the school not the doctor, dyslexia is not an illness or disease. Help is given with specialised teaching which helps dyslexic to overcome their difficulties. Make an appointment with her teacher or principle and ask for the school to arrange for her to be tested. If she is dyslexic the sooner this is done the better. You could look at these websites which will also give you more of an idea whether she is or not.

Answer 4

Hmm. The school system is responsible for assistinging in these matters. Call the Board of Ed. Also contact Mental Health Centers for a child psychcologist.

Answer 5

Seek out somebody capable of providing a neuro-psych battery of tests. These are, unfortunately, typically expensive and time consuming, but they are what you are looking for. It is quite possible your daughter might not just be dyslexic, or might not be dyslexic at all, and only somebody who is qualified to give such tests and evluate them will be able to let you know for sure. Feel free to e-mail me personally if you want more advice or somebody to communicate with.

Answer 6

Her school told you to go to a doctor well i live in cook county and the school sykirtriss[sorry about the spelling]at the school test for that ask the school to test her for a iep.

Answer 7

My son has dyslexia and I found out when he was in 6th grade. The school did not tell me, he was helping his little sister with math problems one night and they started to fight she said you are reading all of the numbers backwards. Finally I stepped in and told him to read them to me and she was right, he was reading all of his numbers backwards. I searched and searched and finally found a Dr. to help him. He graduated from high school and went to college and now he is helping kids with the same problem. The Dr. is in Pittsburgh PA. He is a Chiropractor.

Answer 8

Contact the school and ask them to have their School Psychologist (they have to have one for special education students) call you with recommendations for doctors who specialize in this area.

Answer 9

tell her to spell C-A-T, if she screws up on something so simple not only a 6 yr. lod cuold od utb os cluod a cimhpaznee i used to be dyslexic and it was really hard and a struggle but i got through and so can she its really hard and painful u wouldnt understand unless you had it so i mean if u dont take it seriously,,,,,, then start b/c its hard seek medical attention.......

Answer 10

Oh, it exists and here's a site you may try: http://www.beat-dyslexia.com/main.php?left_links=1&id=47&source=google&campaign=1&group=1&creative=1