DSA Diagnostic Assessments
Is a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) suspected? I can assess for dyslexia and also comment on dyscalculia, dyspraxia and ADHD*.
Are you going on to Higher Education? Then you may qualify for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) if you get a Diagnostic Assessment. A few universities help with the costs of a DSA Diagnostic Assessment – it is worth asking.
Further details about the DSA are available in a DfES leaflet ‘Bridging the Gap: a guide to Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs)’
Specialist Teacher’s Diagnostic Assessment
Challenges with reading, spelling, writing, maths, memory, speech/language, organisational skills and co-ordination or attention/concentration and hyper-activity?
Strengths in conceiving of things as a whole, visual skills and being a quick problem solver?
Specific Learning Difficulties can be formally identified or referrals made. Suggestions can be given for support, ILP/IEPs, Provision Maps and for teaching programmes as well as exam access (in conjunction with school).
Important
Diagnostic assessment may not necessarily lead to the identification of a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia: it may identify other explanations for difficulties experienced or may indicate the need for onward referral. To avoid premature diagnostic testing there should be one or more of the following factors: · Relative to age-expectations, the child‘s difficulties are persisting or worsening, despite appropriate, sustained and monitored interventions put in place. · A child appears only to be able to sustain progress in literacy / numeracy acquisition with a high level of support and intervention. · A child is showing signs of distress and/or behavioural difficulties that appear to be linked to difficulties in literacy/numeracy attainment. · A child’s difficulties in literacy and/or numeracy are highly unexpected, given other aspects of their achievement profile. · Other (non-developmental) explanations for persisting difficulties have been excluded e.g. frequent school moves, frequent school absence due to ill-health, trauma, the impact of learning loss during the COVID 19 pandemic, inappropriate or inconsistent instruction/intervention strategies etc. · A range of co-occurring difficulties (developmental, psycho-social, medical) is contributing to a complex picture of need, requiring specialist recommendations for intervention.
Exam Access Arrangements
For awarding bodies covered by JCQ, I work in line with the most up to date JCQ Regulations. This means that I will only carry out Access Arrangement assessments via the candidate’s school.
A full report can make access arrangement suggestions for Common Entrance, Secondary School Entrance exams and the IB.
Important
Your SENCo may be qualified to test for EAA – ask at school first! The decision of whether or not to apply for EAA rests with the school. I must have a Form 8 Part 1 completed by the school before I carry out an EAA.
The EAA must reflect the child’s normal way of working.
I must be the assessor attached to the school.
Extra time is not always the answer. Some children with SpLDs benefit more from “rest breaks”. Teaching how to use extra time beneficially is vital as it will eat into precious recovery time on days when there is a packed timetable.
(* Following SASC guidelines)
ADHD
Pre-16 I may not diagnose ADHD. I may detail suspected features of ADHD using questionnaires and rating scales and create a referral letter.
Age 16-17 I may detail the characteristics of ADHD supporting the need for educational interventions and, potentially, medical treatment and create a referral letter.
Age 18 + I may identify learning difficulties and patterns of behaviour that together indicate the presence of characteristic features of ADHD. I may make relevant recommendations for educational support and reasonable adjustments eg DSA Diagnostic report for university. I may give onward referral for medical management (if required)
Autism
I may not screen for or diagnose autism. Diagnosis of autism is a complex process and requires specialist training and qualification, relevant training and experience in both autism and the co-occurring condition/s, and a high level of expertise within a multidisciplinary ‘team approach’. I can document (where permission is given) relevant developmental characteristics and experiences, noting their impact on learning.
Dyspraxia
Age 5-16 I may not identify dyspraxia but I may give onward referral. In any assessment carried out prior to onward referral, I may describe features of possible motor coordination difficulty observed or reported by the child assessed, and / or their parents, carers and teachers. There may be significant delay in the acquisition of gross and fine motor skills and impairment in the execution of coordinated motor skills that manifest in clumsiness, slowness, or inaccuracy of motor performance.
Ages 16+ I may state whether or not the individual shows significant features of / a profile with consistent with DCD / dyspraxia.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a core deficit in number sense and is very rare (est. 5% of the population). A strong symptom is if, on looking at a set of objects, it is very hard to approximate how many there are. In this case a dyscalculia specialist found via www.dyscalculianetwork.com is recommended. However, around 60% of people with dyslexia also have Maths learning difficulties and 25% of people have Maths difficulties or anxiety. This is not dyscalculia.