Dyslexia Assessment Report Analysis

This essay is a critical analysis of a Dyslexia Assessment Report of 8 years old 8 months K. The paper gives a very brief overview of the assessments in the report, examines the relevance of the recommended interventions, explores alternative interventions, analyses policy and pedagogy issues raised in the report and finally gives an overall evaluation of the report. Assessment Assessmentis about building a picture over time of a student’s learning progress across the curriculum.

Itis the process of gathering, recording, interpreting, using and reporting information about a student’s progress and achievement in developing knowledge, skills and attitudes.

The two major types of activities in an assessment process are the collection of formal assessment data which is identify needs, modify curriculum and create learning context and adopt teaching strategies and could be done through the use of objective tests, and an informal assessment data which could also be done through observation check lists, etc.

The rationale of assessment is of multiple purposes; it helps in diagnosing both teaching and learning and also monitoring progress (Chase, 1999); it is also used in grading students; it is used in predicting the future achievements of students. Assessment is intimately linked with students learning processes, diagnosing the difficulties students are experiencing and identify students area strength and weakness, helping students to develop self-awareness, providing feedback on areas of learning requiring further work, inform planned interventions, teaching programmes and targets, helping to guide them in their studies and generally motivating them and promoting the desired learning outcome (Pollard et al., 2008; Alexander, 2010). Assessment helps teachers notice a child problem, assess precisely what he can and can not do and provide support to help him or her or see that it is provided by someone else and leads to an understanding and acceptance of learning differences.

Assessment can povide essential infomation that will help prevent students from falling into highe risk groups and enable progress for those students aleady excelling. K completed test batteries assessing, receptive language, phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid naming/processing speed, single word reading, reading accuracy, reading comprehension, reading rate, speeling, handwriting formation and free writing.

These tests were selected to test the major deficits associated with dyslexia. According to Rose (2009) these are the key features to consider when assessing whether a pupil has dyslexia. Low scores in these selected areas would potentially indicate dyslexia and diagnosis ia appropriate.K was assessed using the curriculum-based assessment. Curriculum- based assessments provide a direct assessment of a child’s skills upon entry into a curriculum; guide development of individual goals, interventions, and accommodations; and allow for continual monitoring of developmental progress (McLean et al., 2004).

For learning disabled student, curriculum-based assessment allows for early intervention and improved outcome. Curriculum-based assessment also allow for student participation in setting goals, identifying areas for improvement and graphing progress. Together, student and teacher establish objectives and ways to monitor and access them, creating a sense of empowerment that support student success and self esteem.

Because curriculum-based assessments are student centred, focusing on each individual’s leaning deficits and skills, teacher can identify obstacles quickly and refer student for supportive services. At the end of the assessment K was diagnosed with dsylexia in that K has difficulty with accuate and fluent word reading and spelling marked by difficulties with phonological awareness and verbal memory and co-occuring difficulties of concemtration and organisation. This has resulted in low-self esteem,unpredictable behavior and low achievement in most curriculum areas expect Maths.

All people, young and old, can experience overwhelmimg stress and exhibit signs of anxiety, but childen, adolescents, and adult with dyslexia are particulary vulnerable. That is becuase many individuals do not fully understand the nature of their learning disability, and as a result, tend to blame themselves for their own difficulties. Years of self-doubt and self recrimination may erode a person’s self-esteem, making them less able to tolerate the challenges of school, work or social interactions and more stressed and anxious ( Schutz, 2013).

After dIagnosing K a number of Recommdations where made. Overall the recommendations were well suited to K. I will mention a few that i agree with. In his General Recommendations i completely agree with dyslexia friendly classroom with strategies across the curricullum, including access to alternative methods of recording. I think before a classroom can be dyslexia friendly it should start with a dylexia friendly school. School policies can affect classroom policies.

A whole school ethos that respects individual differences, maintains high expectation for all and promotes good communication between teachers, parents and pupils (OFSted,2010). An earlier study reported by Norwich, Giffths and Burden (2005) described a dyslexia friendly school as one where all teachers are appropraiately trained, are aware of the impact of cognitive difficulties on teaching their subjects and aware of the strengths and weakness of the individual with dyslexia.

This will enable K’s teacher to use her training and knowledge of cognitive difficulties to make the cuiculum more accessible and develop literacy skils as well as becoming dyslexia friendly. The British Dyslxia Association (20018) refers to dyslexia friendly teaching as good practice that involves accommodating individulas with dyslexia by employing appropriate teaching methods and alternative methods of recording that ae dyslexia friendly.

Therefore a dyslexia friendly class will consider seating, lightning and position of resources. Key words and clearly labelled resources, information on non white paper (e.g cream) where relevant with an accessible font and layout. Alternatives to copying from the board, use of overlays where appropriate and the use of ICT to support pupils learning, also computer screens and text size is adjusted where appropriate.

Further more there are resources available within school fo supporting pupils with dyslexia and SpLD for example magnetic letters, ICT software, electronic spellers, Literacy games, word mats, coloured filters, alphabets on the wall among others.In support of dyslexia friendly classroom the OFSted report suggested that SEN pupil will benefit from creative adaptations to classroom practice which will enable children with SEN to learn inclusively and meaningfully, alongside their peers. Again i agree with K benefiting from multisensory approach to learning, ensuring the kinaestic strategies are emphasied.

For dyslexic people visual or auditory processing may be limited, making it more difficult to store what is seen or heard into memory. Sensory approach will allow K to see, hear and feel letters rather than just one sense. Mutisensoer method creates a better learning envionment. Processing information in many ways as possible can help with working memory as K has a deficit in working memory because he is not able to store information or make inferences. Using multisensory strategies can help K keep information in mind long enough to use it. Rose(2009)recommended good practice includes using mutisensory methods and encouraging multisensory learning but as a teacher, should that be an accomadation or should that be the norm? I would say the norm.

Also i side with the recommendation on additional, tailore 1:1 support to develop his literacy skills with cobination of trianed teacher and daily LSA support. No to Failure (The trust, 2009) provided evidence that specialist teaching works and that even a fairly modest amount of specialist teacher input can make a marked difference to the literacy skills of pupils with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties. Also Brooks (2013) mentioned that children with spelling problems needs schemes tailored to thei preferred ways of learning and delivered systematically “little and often”.

These lessons must be ajusted to the pace of childs learning therefore the need of LSA since the classroom teacher doing so herself during lessons may drag lessons for other abled students. K will need a lot of extra time according to his pace. Such schemes work partculary for enabling children to grasp relatively regular pattern of spelling. Recommendation on K being taught a continous cursive handwritting is very helful. Reasons for poor handwritting at any age can be poor motor control, tension, badly formed letter, speed etc.

A cursive joined style is most helpful to children with dyslexia. K should therefore be encouraged to study his handwritting and be self-critical. Teacher should get him to decide for himself where faults lie and what improvements can be made, so that no resentment is built up at yet another person complaining about his written work. Eventhough most of the recommendations made for K are suitable to his needs there are a few lope holes that needs to be adressed.

Now K suffers from dyslexia according to the report and recommendations were made without considering the strenghts of K. Personalised learning is understanding K’s strengths and weaknesses and meeting his special needs which includes the curriculum, student gouping, quality teachers, goals and data taking. Personalised learning for K should address his phonological weakness which impacts his reading, spelling and writing.

The goal is for K to become a fluent reader. Many of the recommendations should have been things going on within the classroom aleady and should have data supportinh it. Things like reading with an adult, running records, visual need should be used daily in the general classroom. In classroom assessment and interventions there has not been a consistent use of classroom interventions, neither were there a list of types of interventions used and results.

There is also a history of abuse in his family. His plan needs to contain social work services. ADHD also ofetn shows itself as dyslexia with students as they do not or cannot attend to words. This has not yet been ruled out by a medical doctor and this is seen not only from his paents, but also his lack of organisation and poor concentration. K has no information on family histoy as dyslexia is a genetic condition as well as no informationn on his develoopmental milestone. The recommendations is a little fague and needs more adjustment inoder to help a teacher with no prior knowledge of reading or dyslexia support K.

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