Dyslexia Evaluation at Horizon Academy 

Fall parent-teacher conferences are often a turning point for families noticing reading challenges. As autumn brings cooler weather and falling leaves, October also marks Dyslexia Awareness Month– a crucial time to address concerns about your child’s learning and literacy development. If recent feedback from teachers left you wondering whether your child needs a dyslexia evaluation, you are not alone. There is often a spike in education testing right after fall conferences. 

If a parent-teacher conference or report card pushed you towards evaluating your child for dyslexia, read the newest blog by Dr. Tiffany Arrington, Horizon Academy’s school psychologist. In it she explains why early identification matters, what to expect from comprehensive testing, and how to get the right support for your student this school year and beyond. 

Nightmares of Dyslexia Evaluations

In the month of October we celebrate the cooler temperatures and falling leaves. The long sleeves come out and the sandals get packed away. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the holidays are all right around the corner. In addition, October is home to several awareness months including: ADHD, Dysgraphia, and of course, Dyslexia. 

When I think about all that October offers, ironically, this school psychologist does not focus on candy, pumpkins, or Halloween costumes. What I do think about, every year, is the feedback parents get about their child’s reading skills during fall parent-teacher conferences. As a person who provides learning evaluations for families, I am keenly aware that the need for my services spike after fall conferences. 

In celebration of the spooky season, I am giving the blog a little Halloween twist, see if you can pick up on it! 

Show Your Bones

Unfortunately, dyslexia evaluations are riddled with fear and apprehension. Parents often have hundreds of questions running through their mind after hearing the word “dyslexia” uttered about their student. 

• Do I wait and see?
• Do I keep asking the school? 
• Will an evaluation make my student feel different or less capable? 
• Do I take away my student’s XBOX  and force them to read? Would that even help? 
• Will my student be fixed with a label that stays with them forever? 
• And so many more…

These questions feel endless because evaluations are just not familiar for parents or students. 

I think it helps to think of a dyslexia evaluation like you would think of an X-ray. Do we get an X-ray at every doctor’s appointment? No. We only need an X-ray to answer specific questions about the happenings inside our bodies. X-rays have unique procedures and special equipment. At times you have to follow very specific directions, like holding still for a period of time. There are also guidelines about how many times a person should be X-rayed and why. 

Dyslexia evaluations are pretty similar. While X-rays help us look through the skin to see the health of the body underneath, evaluations help us look through the mind and see the health of a student’s reasoning skills, their memory, and their phonological processing. 

Now, I can hear what you are saying: I don’t want my kid exposed to anything harmful (like radiation or evaluation). Isn’t there another way? I’m here to remind you that you do not have to make any decision about evaluations, or X-rays, alone. 

Spill Your Guts

Why did you end up reading this blog post? I assume it is because you are concerned about your child’s reading, or lack thereof. 

It is not uncommon for a parent to feel stuck. Oftentimes, well-meaning parents become fearful that they will be “that parent” who overreacts, doing more harm than good for their child. When it comes to your student, I recommend you say what you feel and say what you think, even if you are unsure. Just to make you feel a bit more secure, you can follow the following criteria when you are worried about your student’s reading. 

If your student is 7 years old, request an evaluation from your school in writing.

If your school refuses to conduct an evaluation, seek out a private practice evaluation. Horizon Academy recommends these clinicians.

If your student is 4 to 6 years old, consider a dyslexia screener. 

Horizon Academy offers a free dyslexia screener that takes about 10 to 15 minutes of your time. Send the screening link to a parent you know is struggling with this question.

In truth, if you spill your guts to a friend, they are likely to spill their guts to you. 

Simply saying “Our teacher has serious concerns about Michael’s reading and I’m not sure what to do” can start life-changing conversations. Let’s not be frightened this year by “concerns” from teachers. Let’s spill our guts with friends, teachers, and psychologists and get some support!

Sharpen Your Axe

If you are contemplating or if you are certain that your student needs an evaluation, do yourself a favor and refresh your memories! Whether you get out the baby book or scroll through the pictures on your phone, you will need to refresh yourself on your student’s developmental history. Ask the grandparents, your spouse, and friends about when they started walking and talking. Consider how you would describe your student during those first years. So much information regarding the way your student develops is captured in those early moments. Most students do reach their milestones within normal range. However, knowing the age (in months) of when a student rolled over, sat up, crawled, stood up, spoke words, skipped, tolerated being away from you can help evaluators gain insight into your student’s current challenges. 

Eat the Brains

If you are considering an evaluation for your student, you will need more information. Why not eat the brains of those who already know what to do. These professionals have incredible knowledge of the process (and they write amazing blogs about it). Go with my scary Halloween theme here and, like a good zombie, eat more brains.

1. When is the Right Time for an Evaluation? This is the best blog I’ve read on the topic. There is no point in recreating it. Take heed! This is the best place to start. Eat these brains first.
2. 10 Signs Your Child Needs A Psychoeducational Assessment. This blog is also a great resource packed into fewer words. Eat these brains based on your appetite.
3. When is the Right Time to Have Your Child Evaluated? This blog is also good and gets to the point. Eat these brains when you are in a hurry.

Scary Finale

My final word on this ghoulish topic of dyslexia evaluations is to not be afraid of follow up X-rays or “additional imaging”. When your student is evaluated for dyslexia, it is possible that other evaluations will be recommended (e.g. ADHD, ASD, or auditory processing disorder). If you have ever been recommended to have an MRI, you know it can be totally scary. The same holds true for follow-up testing or additional referrals.

Remember that dyslexia evaluations are necessary to see what is really going on, spilling your guts helps normalize parent fears, jog your memory of your student’s early years, and utilize the links in this block to absorb more information than you knew before. 

Grave Yard

The following is a list of educational testing providers in the area that we recommend.