How Can Adults Get Tested for Dyslexia?

How Can Adults Get Tested for Dyslexia?

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

Three Different Types of Dyslexia 

 Healthline’s How does dyslexia affect adults? https://www.healthline.com/health/dyslexia-in-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

These may include issues with the following:

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

Dyslexia Tests for Adults

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 

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:

Exceptional Individuals:  https://exceptionalindividuals.com/candidates/neurodiversity-resources/neurodiversity-quizzes/dyslexia-quiz-test/

 Additude: https://www.additudemag.com/dyslexia-symptoms-test-adults/

International Dyslexia Association: https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-test/ 

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

Assessments, Checklists and Screenings 

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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gqa0tzW4b0&t=8s

Key points of the webinar include the following:

• A spikey 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.