A definitive diagnosis of dyslexia for any individual requires a full diagnostic assessment to be carried out by a competent and suitably qualified professional. Dyslexia is not a medical condition; a diagnostic assessment for dyslexia is not covered by the National Health Service (NHS).

A diagnostic assessment is the only way that dyslexia can be formally identified. Our assessment reports provide evidence required to apply to your university or to Student Finance England (SFE) for the disabled students’ allowance (DSA). The assessment will provide a clear picture of your cognitive profile and your strengths and challenges which will help to ensure that any support put in place is as effective as possible.

We pride ourselves on providing students with an empowering and enabling assessment experience. We achieve this through increasing your understanding of why you are experiencing certain challenges alongside how to fully harness your unique set of strengths. An increased self- awareness combined with a recognition of cognitive differences can be an incredibly empowering experience. The recommendations we provide will enable you to adopt new strategies and techniques to increase your performance which not only leads to an increased self – esteem but often far-reaching positive change.

Please liaise with the Disability Adviser or the Student Disability and Welfare Officer working at your university in the first instance, they will be able to offer advice about whether a dyslexia and SpLD diagnostic assessment is suitable for you.

You will need to have had a standard eye test within the last two years, you can request an eye test at pharmacies and opticians.

We would gather background information on developmental, educational and/or occupational history via a straightforward questionnaire for you to complete in advance of the appointment. If you have received support in the past, please provide your paperwork such as a Form 8, or a previous assessment report.

The diagnostic assessment provides detailed information about the individual’s particular profile, identifying personal strengths as well as the challenges. Our diagnostic assessments involve exploring a range of skills and cognitive processing capabilities. It looks at general cognitive abilities, for example, verbal skills, memory, perception and various types of processing, as well as literacy skills. The assessment will also consider other factors that impact learning and performance, for example, emotional or environmental factors.

Following an assessment, a report will be produced detailing the nature and severity of any difficulties identified, as well as making recommendations that build upon your strengths as a basis of how best to support you moving forward.

A detailed report with personalised recommendations is provided. The assessment report is written in a clear and accessible way so it can be easily understood. The report is designed to enable you to develop more effective learning / working strategies as well as enable you to access reasonable adjustments such as exam access arrangements and support at university.

You can apply for the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) if you live in England and have a disability that affects your ability to study. A student must meet the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010. The support received depends upon individual needs and not on income.

You need evidence of one or more of the following:

• specific learning difficulty, for example dyslexia, ADHD and/or DCD

• mental health condition, for example anxiety or depression

• physical disability, for example if you have to use crutches, a wheelchair or a special keyboard

• sensory disability, for example if you are deaf or have hearing loss or are blind or partially sighted

• long-term health condition, for example cancer, chronic heart disease or HIV.

Our diagnostic assessments are for specific learning difficulties only, if you have medical evidence for any of the other disabilities listed above you could use it to apply for the DSA. If this applies to you, we recommend that you take your evidence with you to discuss your disability with the support department at your university as they will be able to offer advice about whether a dyslexia and SpLD diagnostic assessment is suitable for you.

Many universities have funds for different types of support such as language support for students who have English as an additional language (EAL), if this applies to you, we recommend that you enquire at your university.

You can apply for help with the costs of one or more of the following:

• specialist equipment, for example a computer if you need one because of your disability

• non-medical helpers, for example a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or specialist note taker

• extra travel to attend your course or placement because of your disability

• other disability-related study support, for example having to print additional copies of documents for proof-reading.

If you are intending to use your diagnostic assessment report for dyslexia and/or co-occurring SpLDs to apply to Student Finance England (SEF) for the disabled students’ allowance (DSA), then you need to be aware of the timescales.

You need to have fifteen weeks or more remaining on your course to apply for the full DSA package. This includes study skills support from a non-medical helper (NMH), as well as assistive technology, IT equipment and software. It may be possible for you to receive study skills support from an NMH but please note that no assistive technology, IT equipment nor software will be put in place after the fifteen-week cut off.

If you are a final year student nearing the end of your course, we can assess you, and you may want to use the opportunity while you are a student at university to be assessed. Many people find receiving a dyslexia diagnosis an empowering experience that is useful for their transition into the workplace and beyond.

Your university may contribute toward the cost. We have established partnerships with many universities based across the UK, where students benefit from reduced rates. It is worth asking the Disability Adviser or the Student Disability and Welfare Officer working at your university if they work with us. 

Please note that payment is required to secure an assessment date.

We are not able to change your diagnostic outcome as this is an evidenced-based judgement made by an experienced and suitably qualified specialist assessor.

We normally encourage people to discuss any concerns they may have about some of the sensitive information they have shared and may not wish to have included in their report with the assessor on the day.

However, should you require your report to be permanently deleted; or for changes/corrections made to it, please notify us at: reports@neurodiversityachievement.co.uk

Our diagnostic assessments explore dyslexia and cooccurring SpLDs; this includes attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADHD) in adults (post 18) for the purpose of educational or workplace support. If you have difficulties with your attention and concentration, this can be explored during an assessment and recommendations can be given for any support required to access academic study or within the workplace. Please note that this would not be a medical diagnosis of ADHD, and no advice can be given regarding medication or medical management.

If you have a current diagnosed mental health condition this can affect the test results, and the assessor may not be able to make a definitive diagnosis of characteristics of ADHD for educational or workplace support. We suggest that you contact the wellbeing team at your university before booking an assessment.

Our diagnostic assessments explore dyslexia and cooccurring SpLDs; this includes dyspraxia / DCD (post 16). If you have difficulties with your physical coordination, this can be explored during an assessment.

We cannot assess you for dyspraxia / DCD if you have any other known motor difficulties or a confirmed diagnosis affecting motor skills such as Cerebral Palsy, Tourette’s syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease, stroke (CVA), Huntingdon’s chorea.

If your physical coordination has deteriorated over the last 12 months, you would need to see your GP.

We are specialists in dyslexia and do not offer assessments for autism. An assessment for autism will fall under the remit of other specialists and concerns should be discussed with your GP.

Useful websites for information, advice and guidance are:
National Autistic Society (autism.org.uk)
Signs of autism - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

You need to be fluent in spoken English and able to read, write and spell in English to be assessed for dyslexia. If English is not your first language, we normally recommend that you have been learning English or taught in English for at least seven years before an assessment. The assessor will need to know when you started to learn English so they can determine the impact this may have on your assessment results. Please provide your IELTS or PLAB test results before your assessment.

Please note that if an assessment is carried out before you are fluent in English, the assessor may not be able to make a definitive diagnosis of dyslexia. This would mean another assessment may need to be conducted at a later date, with additional charges for you and your university.

Many universities have funds for different types of support such as language support for students who have English as an additional language (EAL), if this applies to you, we recommend that you enquire at your university.

If you experience visual stress, we may not be able to assess you for dyslexia, but we can often assess you for cooccurring SpLDs such as dyspraxia / DCD and characteristics of ADHD.

If you are experiencing visual disturbances which impact on your day-to-day activities, please get a check for visual stress before your assessment. You can do this through the Institute of Optometry www.ioo.org.uk or the British Association of Behavioural Optometrists www.babo.co.uk

You cannot be tested for dyslexia if you have a diagnosed eye condition; if this applies to you, we suggest that you take your medical evidence to the support department within your university as you may be able to use it to apply for DSA funding.

If you may have hearing loss, we recommend that you get your hearing tested before your assessment. You can request a hearing test at pharmacies and opticians; you will not be charged for the test. This is recommended because the tests used to assess for dyslexia involve verbal tasks designed to establish your ability to manipulate spoken sounds within speech.

We cannot assess you for dyslexia if you are deaf; if this applies to you, we suggest that you take your medical evidence to the support department within your university as you may be able to use it to apply for DSA funding.