Specialising in Dyslexia Assessments and Exams Access Arrangements Assessments in Northampton, Northamptonshire and Surrounding Areas

TH Dyslexia offers the following services:

❖ Full Diagnostic Dyslexia Assessments
❖ Examinations Access Arrangements Assessments
❖ Specialist Teaching for children with Dyslexia / literacy difficulties
❖ CPD sessions about Dyslexia for employers and school staff
❖ Advice for parents and schools for year 6 to year 7 transition for children with SEND
❖ Advice for parents and schools on a range of neurological conditions, special educational needs
and/or disabilities

Contact us

Diagnostic Assessments for Dyslexia

I am qualified and accredited by Patoss to carry out full diagnostic assessments for Dyslexia for individuals from 9 years of age to adult.
Assessments can be requested by parents, individuals over the age of 18, schools, colleges, universities or employers.
Assessments can take approximately 3 – 4 hours to administer and will be completed in one or two sittings dependent on the age and needs of the individual.
The individual must be in good health/well-rested on the day of the assessment.
A non-refundable deposit of 50% will be taken when booking the assessment. 
A full written report containing my findings, the diagnostic outcome and recommendations for support, will be sent within 20 working days of the assessment. The report can be shared with parents, school, college, university or the workplace as appropriate.
The assessment report can be used as evidence for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) applications.
❖ Please note: Detailed background information is gathered from a range of sources, as appropriate, and is used alongside observations made during the assessment and results from all of the tests carried out, to form a diagnostic decision. A diagnosis is not guaranteed and is very much dependent on the aforementioned information.

Please contact me for full terms and conditions, and prices.

Examinations Access Arrangements Assessments

I am Level 7 qualified to administer examinations access arrangements assessments for students from year 9 onwards.

Examinations access arrangements (EAA) are reasonable adjustments made for students to ensure that exams are more accessible for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). These adjustments might include:
❖ Extra time
❖ Use of assistive technology
❖ Rest breaks
❖ Reader / computer reader / reading pen
❖ Scribe or laptop
These arrangements aim to provide a fair and equitable assessment experience without altering the essential demands of the exam itself. If you require further details or have specific questions about EAA, please feel free to contact me.

Access arrangements assessments can be requested by school and college staff only.

Specialist Teaching

I hold a Level 7 specialist teaching qualification for children and young people with dyslexia.

As a Dyslexia Specialist I can offer support for children and young people with dyslexia either in school or at home, with all lessons customised to suit the individual’s needs. In school I can assist teachers with differentiating lesson plans for students who are struggling with literacy skills, to try to improve lesson participation and academic outcomes. I can support students with dyslexia either individually or in small groups to help develop reading and spelling skills and improve confidence in learning. In the home, lessons aim to develop reading and spelling skills and to improve confidence to enable the student to better access learning.

Lessons are designed to be engaging, are not all desk based and require space for the student/s to be able to move around freely.

Lessons are one hour in length and can be booked individually or in blocks of 6 – 8 to suit term times.

Primary to Secondary Transition

Transitioning from primary to secondary school is a significant milestone for students. It can be both exciting and nerve wracking for all but can be particularly challenging for children with special educational needs.

Some of the key challenges are:
❖ Having to navigate an unfamiliar, larger environment with more students and teachers
❖ Moving to a different room for every lesson
❖ Different teachers for each subject
❖ More homework
❖ Increased independence – more responsibility for time management, remembering equipment
❖ Navigating different social groups and making new friends.

I am able to advise both parents and schools to help facilitate a successful transition process.

Primary to secondary transition for children with special educational needs in mainstream schooling is a particular interest of mine and one I studied in depth during my undergraduate degree – it was the topic of my dissertation and I spent a considerable amount of time interviewing both primary and secondary teachers and SENCos along with children who had recently moved to secondary school. This gave me a good understanding of the feelings of the children and the preparation and support they received before, during and after the move. 

Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities

Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) refer to learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for a child or young person to learn in comparison to their peers.

Through my experience in schools and during my studies I have gained significant knowledge of a range of SEND and am able to advise parents, school staff and employers on:
❖ Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia) – CPD sessions available to schools and employers
❖ Neurological conditions such as ASD, ADHD/ADD, Tourette’s Syndrome/Tic disorders
❖ Learning difficulties
❖ Physical difficulties such as hearing and visual impairments, developmental co-ordination disorder, cerebral palsy