Dyslexia is a complex reading disorder that requires evaluators to examine a range of measures, from family background to reading skills, before making a diagnosis and intervention plan. As the first step in a more comprehensive evaluation process, universal screening measures for dyslexia cover an array of assessments. A universal screener for dyslexia, like the Tests of Dyslexia (TOD™), should emphasize a child’s reading capabilities for the most reliable results while eliminating other possible explanations for reading struggles.
Benefits of Universal Screening for Dyslexia
Since the brains of young children exhibit incredible plasticity, or the ability to change and grow, early intervention for possible reading difficulties can mitigate some of the challenges of reading disabilities. Some appropriately targeted interventions may prevent specific reading disabilities. Since the reading process incorporates the brain centers used for spoken language, vision, and hearing, people learning to read strengthen these neural pathways and increase their reading efficiency. Early screening catches potential and existing problems and can serve as a progress-monitoring tool to verify the efficacy of interventions and the rate of improvement.
Reading Skills To Assess
The various components of literacy evaluations fall into several categories, adding to the necessary complexity of a universal screener for dyslexia. These categories include:
- Phonological awareness
- Orthographic awareness
- Oral language
- Processing speed
- Rapid Automatized Naming, or automaticity
- Memory
- Word reading
- Reading and listening comprehension
- Reading fluency
- Spelling and writing
Use developmentally appropriate reading assessments from each category, including skills predictive of impending literacy struggles. Age should take precedence over an individual’s grade due to assessments evaluating based on developmental stage rather than academic level.
Kindergarten: Age 5-6
- Letter-sound association
- Phonological awareness
- Phonological memory tasks:
- Rapid automatized naming
First grade: Age 6-7
- Letter naming fluency
- Letter-sound association
- Phonemic awareness, particularly segmentation, manipulation, and blending
- Oral vocabulary
- Phonological memory tasks
- Word recognition fluency
Second grade: Age 7-8
- Oral reading fluency
- Determining real and nonsense words
- Reading comprehension
Contextual and Environmental Considerations
Effective reading evaluations should investigate all factors, including family, educational, and medical concerns. For instance, whether inherited, prenatal or in childhood, severe stress or trauma can disrupt the acquisition of age-appropriate literacy skills. Similarly, medical conditions can impact the development of various reading skills; for instance, hearing impairment from a medical condition may interfere with the development of phonological awareness.
Along the same lines, the genetic component of dyslexia means that a comprehensive screening includes information about the family’s educational background. Your screener should examine evidence of familial struggles with reading or education, as those elements can play a role in a child’s potential for dyslexia or other reading challenges.
Additional Areas for Examination
Evaluators should also investigate any prior assessments or interventions. Dyslexia tends to resist many traditional interventions, so ascertaining the extent of previous work allows interventionists to select more targeted strategies. Additionally, other concurrent conditions or contexts, such as intellectual disability, ADHD, developmental language disorders, or ELL status, can manifest symptoms similar to dyslexia.
Learn more about the Tests of Dyslexia (TOD™) at WPS and help kids find success in reading and education. With a thorough assessment and expert interventions, kids can find a path toward reading and writing confidence.