Test For Dyslexia

The printed script has been subject to many changes over the centuries. For example, punctuation was not introduced until the 9th century. Unlike our ancestors however, we can now try out a test for dyslexia online.

From the written text developed by the Mesopotamians, texts have progressed through several different alphabets and taken a mere 500 years to reach its present form.

Reading began as a somewhat privileged ability, and the need to read only increased as world trade increased from around the 13th century. Due to the growth of the printing presses in the 15th century, written texts then became more available for everyone.

There are many different types of texts across the world of varying difficulty and English is certainly not one of the easiest to master. However, for those with a reading deficit it can be even harder.

Although dyslexia can be acquired through an accident or a condition that affects how the brain functions, it is more likely to be of a developmental nature that is gradually observed from childhood.

Children with such a reading deficit are often unfairly labelled as disruptive and difficult. This leads to the child beginning to believe they actually are unless they are lucky enough to have parents who know what they are talking about and who are willing to push for the child’s rights. Thankfully now, the majority of teachers are aware of dyslexia and try their best to help within the limits of their time, knowledge and budget.

Unfortunately for many adults, they have had to grow up with the problem, and this can lead to low self-esteem etc. Just remember though, there are many famous and wealthy dyslexics such as Richard Branson for example!

If you have difficulty reading and think you may be dyslexic, you can do tests for dyslexia online.

Over time, this site will go into more depth about the different types of dyslexia as we support an individual differences approach and recognise that not everyone’s problems are the same. So come back to tests for dyslexia to find out more such as what is the best font, size of text, colour of background etc.

If you would like to try out a test for dyslexia online, you can find one HERE. Not free I’m afraid, but it will give you an idea of the tasks that would be involved in any formal assessment etc. Unless you are still in education, the fees for a formal assessment can be quite high.

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This short report really focuses on adults who now believe they may have dyslexia. If this is you, and you are, you obviously grew up with the deficit.

How you cope now, depends on the type of problem you had as a child. May be you found it difficult sounding out printed words, if reading out loud, you tended to pronounce certain words (e.g. yacht, bough) incorrectly, or maybe you had difficulty remembering what you have read for example.  Unless you have a severe dyslexia, as you go through your education, you will gradually develop strategies to help you cope. That is, things you can do you tend to rely on more. For example, if you have a difficulty in sounding out words, you will listen carefully when others say them and add them to your lexicon by memorising them. Adult developmental dyslexics are often referred to as compensated dyslexics.

You may cope perfectly well as an adult using these strategies and no one would ever be aware. But you may realise there is a problem and want to check it out for sure.  You can look at your spellings and see if there is a pattern. Do you regularly spell words you hear as they sound (even “yacht” or”bough”) for example.

One thing that research has shown is that there is nearly always a reading speed deficit, even as a compensated dyslexia, as an adult the reading speed will be slower than normal. If you are going to test your reading speed yourself,  do not use a paragaph where you can pick up the context as this obviously helps you. Construct a 200 to 300 word paragraph that consists of random 3 letter words that do not form a sentence.

Such a sentence may be along the lines of, “dog, the, may, cat, say, the, big, and”. Read it silently to yourself with a stop watch and get a couple of other people to read it as well. See if your speed is slower.

At this point, it must be pointed out that you may not dyslexic at all. If you failed to learn to read properly at school because you had poor attendance, moved around a lot, didn’t bother, poor eyesight or hearing etc., you may just be a slow and ‘garden variety’ type of poor reader. Take the online dyslexia test today and give yourself a proper idea.

CLICK HERE to go there straight there now.

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Dyslexia screening is a method used to see whether you may have dyslexia. A positive screen may not mean you have dyslexia, just that there is a possibility you could have.

The fact that you looking for a dyslexia screening test indicates that you think you have a reading problem, but probably wish for some sort of confirmation before you take the step of approaching a professional body for a more formal assessment.

A dyslexia screening test will ask you to perform certain tasks to investigate what your particular problem is. These may involve rhyming tasks such as being asked to say what word rhymes with ‘cat’ from ‘fit’, ‘mat’ or ‘bar’ for example. You may be asked to spell spoken words and it may also surprise you by having number tasks as well, as this is often found alongside reading problems.

The word ‘dyslexia’ tends to be used to encompass all the different types of reading problems. But within the term, you must understand that there are different types of reading problems. These problems will show different symptoms in how you read.

Broadly speaking, it is possible you have more problems with words that do not follow the traditional spelling-to-sound rules, such as ’steak’, but you can read made-up words such as ’shulz’. Conversely, you may be fine with words such as ’steak’, but are unable to process the made-up words. The reason for this discrepancy is widely debated within the academic world on various grounds, as are the different theories of how we read. A basic guide to reading theories will be the subject of another article as this may help people understand the deficit better.

It gets more complicated for adults as, having grown up with a reading deficit; they may have learnt to compensate for it in other ways.

Thankfully, dyslexia screening tests can be found online and will offer you useful advice. However, it is important to remember that should the test indicate possible dyslexia, an individual assessment will be far more specific. Whoever the professional is who tests you, they will also be able to suggest tasks that may help you cope better.

Taking an online dyslexia screening test is a good way to avoid feeling embarrassed before you need to! However, you should not feel that way, as the professionals you deal with are well aware of your feelings, the years you have spent trying to avoid reading out loud in public, the other difficulties you have had as well as the courage it takes to try and help yourself.

Be smart, and get those questions answered that have plagued you for years today. There are very few online tests of this nature, but our recommendation is ….. HERE and is endorsed by the British Dyslexia Institute. Take a look and decide for yourself and find out in the peace and seclusion of your own home.

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Suggested Dyslexia books for the USA

Suggested Dyslexia books for the UK

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Most people know that dyslexia mainly involves a difficulty with reading the printed word. This may involve such things as visual disturbances when trying to read the letters/words or perhaps poor comprehension due to a short term memory problem among other things.

The list below is not exhaustive, nor will it apply to everyone. It will however give you some idea but if you are an adult, do try the online test for dyslexia or try some of the tactics that work for others HERE.

However, symptoms of dyslexia can involve a lot more, watch the video below for more information.

Because most children obviously are unable to read until around 7-years-old it is difficult to spot a problem before this age. However, there are a few pre-cursors such as a family history of reading problems.

A child will have good and bad days for no obvious reason and will show confusion with directional words such as up/down and trouble with sequence, such as the days of the week.

Prior to school, the jumbling of phrases or excessive word subsitutions will be more persistant than normal as will be the inability to remember the names of known objects such as ‘chair’. Quite an important sign of dyslexia is any difficulty in learning nursery rhymes that involve rhyming words (such as ‘cat’, ’sat’, ‘mat’) and possibly, the late development of speech.

Excessive clumsiness such as persistantly bumping into things, difficulty in ball play or clapping in rhythm should also be watched for and can be a symptom of dyslexia.

Primary School Age

When a child is at school, you are very likely to find a difficulty with spelling as well as reading and that letters and figures will be the wrong way round or omitted. Tables and alphabet learning will be difficult. Concentration will be poor and you will observe poor comprehension of anything that has just been read. Written work will take longer and if teaching is at a rapid pace, they may find it more difficult to process speech.

Telling left from right may be a problem but may show greater skills in other areas. Low self-esteem will already be starting to show and should be dealt with sympathically.

Upper school or 11 and over.

In addition to the above,symptoms of dyslexia will reveal that reading remains inaccurate as does spelling as expectations language skill increases. Planning and producing essays will be below normal. Short-term memory may be shorter than normal and the child may show confusion over places, times and dates.  Areas of strength and weaknesses will be more pronounced by now when looking for signs of dyslexia.

If you are an adult who have been wondering about whether you could be dyslexic, try the dyslexia screening test available from this web site.

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More coming soon, please watch this short video as it may help and/or see http://testfordyslexia.org/signs-and-symptoms-of-dyslexia/surprising-symptoms-of-dyslexia

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