How we identify dyslexia and how we help dyslexics

Dyslexia is a word that covers many things. It is a challenge faced by as many as one in every eight people in the UK. The good news is that in the vast majority of cases dyslexia need not be any sort of handicap in life and may well end up being positively useful throughout adult life.

The reason 99% of individuals come to Helen Arkell is they think they, or one of their children, may be dyslexic and they want to find out. Once again there is good news – dyslexia can be identified by a series of straightforward tests tailored to be taken by anybody from the ages of 5 upwards.

It’s good when we can identify dyslexia early as that means a person has more time to develop the coping strategies to meet individual challenges. However at Helen Arkell we support dyslexics of all ages and of all severities.

The benefits of knowing you are dyslexic

For most people discovering a dyslexia condition exists is a great relief. In the first place we can together start to plan strategies to overcome the challenges. In addition the world of education understands that dyslexia affects things like exam performance and can offer dyslexic students a range of access arrangements for extra time, use of computers or, in severe cases, somebody to write papers to the student’s dictation.

The first step? Look at the symptoms then come and see us for a consultation

Because dyslexia manifests itself in different ways in different individuals we always recommend an initial consultation in order to take gain a broad vision of the potential challenges.

The most common symptoms of dyslexia are problems encountered with any of the following:

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Spelling
  • Maths
  • Study Skills
  • Exam performance
  • Organisation Skills
  • Memory

A consultation takes 45 minutes and our subsidised fee is £55 – this may be waived in cases of hardship. The consultation is with an experienced professional and is held directly with adults or parents who think their child may be dyslexic, or have other difficulties with learning. We can then work together to see if an assessment is appropriate.