Providing Help With Dyslexia in Oxted, Caterham & the Wider Surrey Area | Natalie Alderton Dyslexia Services Ltd
Dyslexia is one of the most widely misunderstood, and yet one of the most impactful specific learning difficulties (SpLD) affecting children in Surrey. As a certified provider of both dyslexia assessments and dyslexia tutoring covering areas such as Caterham, Coulsdon, Oxted, Purley and Warlingham, Natalie Alderton Dyslexia Services Ltd are here to help young people and their families navigate it, finding strategies for day-to-day management and making significant progress in problem areas. To help you get a better understanding of how Natalie can guide you on this path, we’ve looked to answer some of the questions we most commonly receive on the page below.
FAQ
What are some common indicators of dyslexia?
Some of the most common difficulties that young people with dyslexia experience include: word recognition, remembering information recently read, organising thoughts in a written format, spelling accuracy, writing speed, verbal processing speed, and phonics.
A common misconception around dyslexia is that it has a direct correlation with general intelligence. But in fact, many dyslexic children are highly intelligent and merely struggle with particular teaching methods. They may be creative, natural problem-solvers, and excel in the areas of spatial awareness and pattern recognition – it’s all about playing to their strengths to help make progress in weaker areas.
When is the best time for dyslexia assessments?
As soon as a parent, teacher or care-giver has cause for concern around a child’s experience in education, or find they are lacking confidence in the aforementioned areas, we’d recommend seeking the counsel of a dyslexia assessor like Natalie. The dyslexia assessments she provides young people all throughout Surrey – especially in Caterham, Coulsdon, Oxted, Purley and Warlingham – can be the first step to making progress and getting on-top of emerging difficulties.
How old should someone be before undertaking dyslexia assessments?
Formal guidance dictates 8+ years. This is because, while dyslexia indicators can be observed in younger children, they’re rarely conclusive due to how common they are in isolation.
Where are dyslexia assessments undertaken, and what’s involved?
Dyslexia assessors like Natalie recommend choosing a place the child is comfortable in, such as their own home; if this isn’t possible, we can discuss alternative locations, such as their school. Dyslexia assessments take around two and a half hours, not including breaks we’ll take to ensure concentration can be maintained throughout. They involve a range of tests looking at cognition and literacy, ensuring an accurate, holistic picture can be built up.
Can I accompany my child during dyslexia assessments?
Not during the assessment itself, as the aim is to provide a totally distraction free, one-to-one environment. However, you can certainly join during any breaks we take if that’s something you’d both like. A big part of the role of the dyslexia assessor is to ensure that children stay engaged and even enjoy the process, so interesting tasks are mixed in with those that might feel a little more tedious, keeping things varied.
What influences the ultimate diagnosis?
There are many factors which play a vital role in diagnosis. These include any historical difficulties with literacy, whether or not family members have similar issues (due to the genetic aspect of dyslexia), and information gathered via their school and teachers. Dyslexia assessors also make observations during the assessment itself. These help form a deep understanding of the big picture, alongside the actual results of the specific tests they’ll undertake with Natalie.
What happens in the case of a diagnosis of dyslexia?
This is the first step in forming a strategy for moving forward. Natalie will look to set targets, provide helpful teaching resources and learning strategies, focusing on the development of weaker areas. She also offers dyslexia tutoring. We can then look to arrange assistance with exams, such as the use of a reader or extra time, which many find invaluable and a huge help in achieving their potential.
What happens if they don’t meet the criteria?
Dyslexia assessments can still be very helpful for young people around Caterham, Coulsdon, Oxted, Purley and Warlingham who don’t fit within the classical criteria for dyslexia. Why? Because they may point the way toward other types of specific learning difficulty (SpLD), for which there exist other assessments, resources and learning strategies, or identify particular factors that may be causing difficulties in the classroom and around the curriculum. Each case is different, and could involve referrals to other professionals, or simply the setting out of particular strategies and approaches, just as if a positive diagnosis were to be made.
Is there a difference between reports made by specialist dyslexia assessors, and Educational Psychologists?
Both assess and diagnose for dyslexia, and both can make recommendations for on-going support and development. However, Educational Psychologists use a different category of cognitive ability tests. One of the benefits of specialist dyslexia assessors is they may have more experience in the classroom, and can thus often make more specific recommendations.
How accurate are school dyslexia screenings?
While increasingly offered at schools around Caterham, Coulsdon, Oxted, Purley, Warlingham and all other Surrey locations Natalie covers, they are not always totally accurate, nor as holistic as the dyslexia assessments offered by independent specialists. We’d always recommend the latter.