The following is a list of areas often assessed by a psychologist when identifying whether someone has dyslexia:
- Phonological Awareness: The ability to recognize and manipulate the different sounds found within a given language, phonological awareness allows a child to turn strings of letters into their corresponding sounds. Phonological awareness is often seen as the primary deficit in dyslexia and deficits in this area are often seen prior to a child learning to read.
- Rapid Automatized Naming: The ability to quickly name common objects or symbols, rapid automatic naming plays a key role in reading fluency. The double-deficit theory of dyslexia holds that phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming are the two key deficits in dyslexia.
- Processing Speed: How quickly you can make sense of incoming information also affects reading speed. Processing speed deficits can be present in a number of disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Working Memory: Being able to hold and manipulate information in your head plays a key role in comprehending what you are reading. Working memory deficits are present in many other disorders as well.
- Orthographic Awareness: Generally assessed through spelling ability, orthographic awareness is understanding of how language is visually represented, including recognizing letter patterns. This awareness helps children recognize groups of letters instead of each individual letter, helping them decode unfamiliar words and read quickly. This skill is critical in spelling to prevent children from spelling words solely based on how they sound.
- Word Reading: This area includes measuring how well a child can read both real and nonsense words under both timed and untimed conditions. Children with dyslexia can often have more trouble reading single words, as they are not able to use the context provide by the other words.
- Reading Fluency: Children with dyslexia may be able to read words accurately, but lack speed when reading passages.
In addition to these areas, an assessment generally includes a review of records (e.g., school grades), an interview (with the parents, child, and any other providers/teachers), and the completion of rating scales (by parents, teachers, and/or other important people in the individual’s life).
Reference:
Mather, N, & Wendling, B.J. (2012). Essentials of dyslexia assessment and intervention. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.