What Happens During a Dyslexia Screening?

A dyslexia screening is a short assessment designed to explore some of the skills that can be associated with dyslexia and to identify whether further investigation may be helpful.

The screening looks at three main areas: receptive vocabulary, orthographic knowledge, and reading fluency and comprehension.

Receptive Vocabulary

Receptive vocabulary refers to an individual’s understanding of spoken words and their meanings.

Exploring receptive vocabulary provides information about an individual’s knowledge and understanding of language. This is useful when considering their wider literacy profile and interpreting other aspects of the screening.

Orthographic Knowledge

Orthographic knowledge relates to an individual’s knowledge and recognition of letters, written words and conventional spelling patterns.

This area is particularly relevant when considering dyslexia because difficulties developing secure knowledge of written word patterns can affect spelling and the efficient recognition of words.

Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Reading fluency and comprehension considers how efficiently an individual can read and understand written information.

This is important because reading difficulties are not always reflected by accuracy alone. Some individuals may be able to read and understand written material but require more time or effort to do so.

A screening considers more than reading accuracy. The time, effort and strategies involved in reading can also provide useful information about an individual’s literacy profile.

What Do the Results Tell Us?

The results across these areas provide information about an individual’s literacy and language profile and can help identify whether there are indicators that warrant further investigation.

A dyslexia screening does not provide a formal diagnosis of dyslexia. Instead, it provides an indication of whether a full diagnostic assessment may be appropriate.

The screening findings are considered alongside relevant background information and the difficulties the individual is experiencing. Where appropriate, the next steps can then be discussed, including whether a full diagnostic dyslexia assessment would be beneficial.

Important: A screening identifies possible indicators; only a full diagnostic assessment can determine whether an individual has dyslexia.