For younger children
Not quite ready for a full diagnostic assessment?
Some children are simply too young for a full diagnostic dyslexia assessment to give the clearest picture. That does not mean you have to ignore concerns or wait without doing anything useful.
Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing.
7–8 years
Strengths & Needs Assessment · £300
For some 7- and 8-year-olds, a non-diagnostic assessment can be useful now. It looks at the child’s current pattern of strengths and weaknesses and highlights areas that may need support or further development.
This is not a full dyslexia assessment and it does not diagnose dyslexia.
- Identifies current strengths and areas of difficulty.
- Highlights useful areas to work on at home and school.
- Provides practical recommendations based on the child’s current profile.
- Can help you decide whether to wait and review progress or consider a later diagnostic assessment.
Or simply wait
For many children, waiting is completely reasonable. Development at this age can be uneven, and giving skills more time to consolidate can make a later diagnostic assessment much clearer.
Keep supporting them, work with school, notice what helps and come back to assessment later if concerns remain.
School support can start now
A child does not need a dyslexia diagnosis before school can put support in place. If concerns are significant, support should not wait for an assessment.
See the school support guideThings to try now
Keep it playful
These are simple ways to build useful skills without turning home into another classroom.
Make letters
Try Play-Doh, sand or foam rather than endless pencil practice.
Use the world around you
Notice familiar logos, signs, labels and packaging.
Play with sounds
Rhymes, clapping syllables and nursery-rhyme rhythms build useful sound awareness.
Car games
Short, playful word and sound games can fit naturally into journeys.
Choose things your child enjoys. Stop if it becomes frustrating.
Growing & Learning
Keep the useful bits
You do not need to keep a daily record. Just occasionally note something that feels worth remembering.
That might be what school said, something that helped, support or intervention that was tried, progress you noticed, a useful piece of work, or a milestone you do not want to forget.
When might a full assessment be useful?
I can carry out a diagnostic dyslexia assessment from age 8 where it is appropriate, but turning 8 does not automatically mean that a full assessment is the best next step.
For some children, Year 6 can be a particularly useful point because it gives a clearer picture before the transition to secondary school. For others, there may be a good reason to assess earlier.
If you are unsure, tell me what you are noticing and I can help you think about timing.
Ask me about timing