Direct Learning provides dyslexia testing, professional assessment and independent advice for both children and adults. We advise parents with concerns about their children's problems with spelling, reading and learning at school, and adults with difficulties at work or college.

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Most cases of dyslexia in children are not noticed until a child starts school and begins to experience difficulty with reading, spelling or math/s.

A child who appears perfectly normal gradually becomes anxious about school, and may refuse to go. The child feels frustrated and cannot understand why they are having such difficulty with learning skills that other children in their class find straightforward.

Our comprehensive Dyslexia Assessment for 7-16 year olds has been specially designed for you to complete at home with your child or teenager.

Simple, easy-to-give tests measure each of the different indicators of dyslexia. The test results are evaluated by us, and a full assessment report sent to you which summarizes all the findings. The results of the evaluation are outlined and put in a clear conclusion. Feedback is provided and recommendations are made for each individual child which will allow the early remediation of their difficulties.

Once a child is diagnosed as being at risk, the correct remedial teaching and support can be started by the school and parents so that the child can learn techniques to overcome their difficulties.

The report may be shown to your child's school, and will contain recommendations for learning strategies to raise your child's achievement to the average for their age.

The test is suitable for children aged seven to sixteen.

The Dyslexia Test 7-16 contains a booklet and an audiotape for you to listen to. The contents of the test pack should not be seen by your child before the test activities, and you should listen to the tape when your child is not present.

The test booklet contains short, easy-to-give tests which are designed for parents to carry out with their child at home. Each test is brief - taking just a few minutes. Reading and spelling tests measure your child's achievement compared to his or her age-group. Your child's intelligence is measured to establish whether there is a discrepancy between his/her intelligence and achievement. In addition, each of the indicators of dyslexia is examined in short, easy-to-give tests and a questionnaire, which also looks at the possibility of attention deficit or delayed learning.

These short tests allow us to evaluate your child's performance in the critical areas that have been identified as indicating dyslexia. These include phonological discrimination, memory, intelligence, laterality, etc.

The test pack contains everything you need to do the short tests.

After your child has completed the test activities, simply mail the test booklet back to us. The completed test will be carefully evaluated by our staff, who specialize in the assessment of dyslexia, and a full, detailed professional assessment report sent to you. The report may be shown to your child's school, and will contain recommendations for learning strategies to raise your child's achievement to the average for their age.

The Dyslexia Test 7-16 is based on research findings from the psychology departments of three major universities, and on reliable, validated standardized tests.

Elements from these findings have been incorporated into our comprehensive Dyslexia Test 7-16, which also includes a questionnaire for parents to complete. The questionnaire asks about your child's medical background and other factors which may have a bearing on whether your child may be dyslexic.

"I have found the test layout to be extremely user-friendly, and easy to follow. The guidelines and suggestions given helped. It seemed less of a test and more of a game, resulting in more relaxed 'work', and better performance by my daughter, who 'despises' any form of 'sit down and work' atmosphere, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it myself." R.H. (Richmond, Virginia)

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