How to Diagnose Dyslexia in Adults

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Are you an adult who suspects you might have dyslexia? If so, this blog post could help you.

What are the three different types of dyslexia?

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 Healthline’s How does dyslexia affect adults?  mentions the three main different types of dyslexia:

  • Dysnemkinesia, which affects motor skills.
  • Dysphonesia, which affects auditory or listening skills.
  • Dyseidesia, which affects visual skills.




Symptoms of dyslexia in adults

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These may include issues with the following:

  • Reading.
  • Solving maths problems (this is also present in dyscalculia).
  • Memorisation.
  • Time Management.

How to diagnose dyslexia in adults

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Since dyslexia is not a medical or physical condition, GPs cannot diagnose it, but they may refer adults who suspect they have it to psychiatrists. A psychiatrist may carry out the following tests to determine if an adult has dyslexia:

  • Vision test
  • Hearing test
  • Reading test
  • Psychological test
  • Questionnaires about their lifestyle or work life

Dyslexia quizzes 

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Adults can take quizzes on the following websites to see if they have dyslexia; however, the quizzes are only indicators of symptoms and should not be used as formal diagnoses:

When an adult takes any of the quizzes, they may wish to share their results with their GP and psychiatrist.

What are dyslexia checklists and screenings? 

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The British Dyslexia Association offers a wide range of assessments for adults, but they recommend that adults do a dyslexia checklist and/or a screener beforehand.

Adults can download a dyslexia checklist from here. It cannot tell them if they have dyslexia or not, but “it is a tool used to help whether there is a likelihood of dyslexia, and whether further investigation should take place”: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/how-is-dyslexia-diagnosed/dyslexia-checklists

A list of dyslexia screening tools can be found here: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/shop/assured

Screening tools that are suitable for adults to use include the ClaroRead software and Dyslexia Workplace Plus.

A list of assessments and explanations can be found here: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/services/assessments

The assessments include Diagnostic Assessments; a Workplace Needs Assessment; and similarities and differences between assessments and screening.

Am I dyslexic? webinar

 

There is a webinar on the Exceptional Individuals YouTube channel that adults can watch to determine if they have dyslexia. Again, this should not be used as a diagnostic tool.

Key points of the webinar include the following:

  • A spiky profile This consists of peaks and troughs that represent a person’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, a person with dyslexia may have creativity as a strength but maths as a weakness.
  • Missing out words and losing one’s place when reading.
  • Getting similar words mixed up, e.g. knife and fork.
  • Identifying an object.
  • Planning to meet a friend (You arrange to meet them at 12pm. What time will you typically get there?).
  • Remembering your left from your right.
  • How far from New York will it be when the two trains meet?
  • How many times did you need to read a question to understand what it was asking?
  • Writing down a spoken number.
  • Filling in a missing word or more than one missing word in a sentence.
  • Resolving the problem with sleeping through a phone alarm.
  • Reading a paragraph aloud.
  • Sounding out and reading words.
  • Writing the alphabet in order.
  • Calculating a sum.

Adults who watch the webinar and complete the tasks throughout may also wish to share and discuss their results with their GP and psychiatrist.

Blog Author

April Slocombe


Neurodivergent