Diagnostic & Workplace

We can offer two types of assessments & they can be carried out jointly or separately. The advantage of a joint assessment is the recommendations for help & support being closely related to difficulties highlighted in the diagnostic assessment.

Our reports are written in a clear style and they have been approved to be used in applications for Access to Work funding.

Diagnostic Assessment of Dyslexia (and associated learning difficulties)

A diagnostic assessment will identify dyslexic difficulties as well as associated difficulties such as Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, ADD & visual stress.

The assessment includes:

• Review of Education & Career History
• Test of cognitive abilities
• Analysis of literacy of phonological skills
• Consideration to any emotional problems related to Dyslexic difficulties
• Evaluation of clients strengths & weaknesses in job role
• Recommendations for help & support

This assessment is concluded with a realistic action plan detailing how the employer can best make 'reasonable adjustments' (as required by the Disability Discrimination Act) thus allowing the employee to reach their potential and ultimately benefiting the employer.

Assessment for Dyspraxia, ADD and/or Visual stress

As stated above our assessments can identify Dyslexia but also Dyspraxia, ADD & Visual Stress.

• Dyspraxia - difficulties with spatial skills and physical co-ordination. Other commonly-found characteristics are poor organisational ability and weak social skills.
• Attention deficit disorder (ADD - short attention span, distractibility and impulsiveness).
• Visual stress - can occur when the brain suffers ‘visual overload’. If you suffer from visual stress you may find that print seems to ‘jump about’, patterns are stressful to look at, and white paper seems to ‘glare’.

Work Based Assessment

A work based assessment is designed to assist in identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses relating directly to the particular demands of a specific job. The assessment report will include recommendations if required for:

• Coping Strategy Training
• Assistive Technology Training
• Equipment & Software recommendations with full list of suppliers & quotes
• Action employers can take to support the recommendations

The assessment is written in plain English and allows the employer and employee to understand the implications of that person's disability within the context of the specific job, allowing both parties to have realistic expectations about the level and standards that can be realistically achieved and how best to achieve them. This assessment is concluded with a realistic action plan detailing how the employer can best make 'reasonable adjustment' (as required by the Disability Discrimination Act) thus allowing the employee to reach their potential and ultimately benefiting the employer.

Technical Assessment for Employee’s

The technical assessment is usually included in the workplace assessment but is sometimes used to assess what a person’s technical needs are in the work place in order to bridge the gap between their difficulties and their job. A specialist I.T. assessor will visit the work place and recommend a combination of equipment and specialist I.T. training.

During the assessment our assessor will:

• Check basic computer skills
• Take into account the individual’s job requirements
• Highlight specific areas of software packages which will be of benefit
• Demonstrate software packages
• Address the client’s strengths & weaknesses in performance and also their learning style to choose suitable software packages

This assessment is concluded with a realistic action plan detailing how the employer can best make 'reasonable adjustment' (as required by the Disability Discrimination Act) thus allowing the employee to reach their potential and ultimately benefiting the employer.

Assessment for Students

We can offer a diagnostic assessment for Students in education (Secondary, College or University). This assessment provides information about the students individual learning style.

The assessor will look at:

• Cognitive Abilities
• Literacy Skills
• If there is evidence of Dyslexic difficulties or other SPLD’s: Identify strengths

A detailed report with recommendations is provided.

Students in Higher Education or starting Higher Education can use our reports to apply for the Disabled Student’s Allowance.

The Disabled Students Allowance provides financial help for students in Higher Education who have dyslexia or any of the SPLD’s. They can provide funding individual specialist study skills tuition as well as funding for software & equipment.

Training for Assessors

We often run training days for specialist teachers or psychologists wishing to follow the current Government guidelines on assessment. This offers the opportunity to explore aspects of adult assessment and up to date knowledge of tests and assessment tools.

Mentoring for Assessors

As well as our training for assessors we can also offer a mentoring service for conduction dyslexia assessment or carrying out training programmes.