Marjorie Raymond – Associate Fellow and Chartered Occupational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society:

Dyslexia affects people in different ways and often occurs with other neurodiverse conditions. For many people, it is associated with issues of literacy. However, people with dyslexia often need strategies for supporting their memory, organisation skills, time management, literacy, and stress management. Bespoke strategies can make dyslexic strengths really shine and includes developing strategies to pinpoint difficulties can help them work well enough. 

Having a confirmed diagnosis through a diagnostic assessment can help because it will provide you with ways to describe both the strengths and difficulties you experience while also building understanding. The liberating part of a diagnosis shows that dyslexic people do not have problems because they are stupid, lazy, or uninterested. The reverse is usually the case. People with dyslexia often work harder than others, blossoming when they have tailored strategies at their fingertips. Whether still at school, in further education or at work, having a diagnosis enables access to accommodations, such as more time for taking exams and access to software that can help you learn and do your job better and more efficiently.

Being Assessed

Before an assessment takes place, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that focuses on issues such as your general state of health, what the current situation is, what strengths you have and where your difficulties are, and what you would like to happen as a result of the assessment. The detailed assessment will take place in a private room or increasingly remotely via confidential video conferencing.

During the assessment, the questionnaire you completed will be discussed, and a series of tests will be carried out to look at how you think and reason, how well your memory works and how fast you can process information. Some tests also look at reading and writing abilities, how comfortable you are with numbers and how well your motor coordination works (as this can affect forming letters and words when writing).

Afterwards, the assessor may provide some initial insights and then will take around ten days to write a full report, which is also discussed.

How to get an assessment

You can ask for a child to be referred for assessment by a local authority educational psychologist or another dyslexia specialist.

For adults, you can approach an independent occupational or educational psychologist or another suitably qualified professional directly. 

You can find a directory of chartered psychologists on the British Psychological Society’s website.

You can also contact a national or local dyslexia association for help arranging an assessment.

Marjorie Raymond is an Associate Fellow and Chartered Occupational Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and has worked within the field of neurodiversity for more than 10 years.  By tailoring and personalising the standard assessment session, Marjorie enables each person to get a sense of their own neurodivergent profile during their time with her.  Marjorie runs her own highly successful Psychology and Coaching practice, and we are proud to have her working with our clients at Creased Puddle.