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Welcome to our Dyslexia testing and information section. We
provide professional and detailed assessment of Dyslexia and general
reading ability. We provide testing for children and adults,
from 4.5 years of age. All assessments are conducted by experienced
Clinical Psychologists, specially trained in diagnostic testing.
Below you will find valuable information about what is
Dyslexia, how it is diagnosed and how we can help. If you are
concerned that your child may have Dyslexia, contact us to discuss
your concern.
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FACTS ABOUT
DYSLEXIA
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Dyslexia (Reading Disorder) is a serious
learning disability that affects approximately 4% of school
children. Most children diagnosed with Dyslexia are boys
(between 60% and 80%). The reason for this difference
between boys and girls is
unknown.
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Symptoms of Dyslexia are rarely present
before the end of Kindergarten and most children are
not detected until much later. Formal reading doesn't
begin until the end of Kindergarten and Grade 1 and
even children with severe cases of Dyslexia can go
unnoticed.
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Dyslexia often emerges
between Grade 2 and Grade 4.
Before Grade 2 the focus is on reading and
reading skills. In other words, children predominantly
learn to read. Towards the end of Grade 2 and from
the beginning of Grade 3 the focus shifts from teaching
reading skills to using reading as a way of acquiring
new information. In other words, children
are expected to read to learn. Children with
Dyslexia often able to acquire basic reading skills, but
unable to use reading to learn and to progress
academically.
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Dyslexia is not related to intellectual
abilities (IQ). Children with high or low IQ are
equally likely to experience reading disorders.
However, components of intellectual functioning, such as
short term memory, can predict the presence of
Dyslexia.
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Children with above average IQ often
manage well beyond early school years and may only show
noticeable difficulties as the curriculum becomes more
reading oriented. It is not unusual to diagnose children
with Dyslexia in Grade 5 or 6, or even
later.
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Early detection and intervention are key
factors in successfully treating Dyslexia. Although
Dyslexia is a life long condition, learning strategies
and appropriate assistance can improve children's reading
ability and they can achieve academic success. Many
prominent professionals and academics suffer from
Dyslexia. |
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SYMPTOMS OF
DYSLEXIA
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Dyslexia is a learning disorder and
it is associated with difficulties acquiring reading
skills. The main characteristics of Dyslexia are
the inability to distinguish between common letters and
the inability to associate common phonemes with letter
symbols.
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Children with Dyslexia often have
difficulty visually distinguishing between confusing or
similar letters, such as b and d, or
p and q. This could lead to a difficulty
correctly reading words, such as reading dog
instead of god, or reading gall instead of
ball.
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Another common characteristic of Dyslexia
is the inability to track word lines. Children may read the
same line twice, they may jump over and skip words, or skip
lines when reading. In more serious cases children may
report that the lines start to "move on the page" or get
"washed out" and "blend into each
other".
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Associated symptoms of Dyslexia may
include difficulties with writing, low self esteem,
behavioural difficulties (particularly acting
out during class), attentional problems, anger and
frequent headaches after the school
day.
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TESTING
DYSLEXIA
- Testing Dyslexia involves the full
evaluation of a child's intellectual abilities (IQ) and
different reading skills. In order to diagnose Dyslexia,
children must complete standardised reading tests that
evaluate phonetic decoding skills, word reading ability and
reading comprehension.
- It is also important to test reading within
a broad context and without the context. Good readers
become fast and accurate at recognising words both without
context and within the context of written text. Children
with Dyslexia often remain dependent on context. However,
the use of context to identify unfamiliar words is
a labour intensive effort due to deficits in either
phonological or orthographic processing.
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WHAT WE
OFFER
- The first step in helping children with
Dyslexia is accurate diagnosis. We offer professional and
nationally recognised diagnostic assessments. Our
assessment reports are recognised by the NSW Board of
Studies.
- We will recommend strategies and
individualised assistance for children diagnosed with
Dyslexia. We are also happy to work together with
teachers and other professionals to design the most
appropriate intervention plans for your
child.
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