Thanks, that's just what I wanted.

Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: Katherine Henderson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 18 August 2003 15:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Assessment Reports


The revised guidance is in Chapter 7a of the Student Support Notes of
Guidance (pages 35 -36)

 http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/administrators/doc/ACF4225.doc

Dyslexia Screening

C30 Screening for dyslexia usually precedes a diagnostic assessment and
the purpose is to determine whether a full psychological or diagnostic
assessment would be warranted. Screening can save the cost of a full
diagnostic assessment in cases where the outcome of screening suggests that
a full diagnostic assessment would be unwarranted. The Bangor Dyslexia
Test, Dyslexia Adult Screening Test (DAST), the Dyslexia Test and Quick
Scan are examples of screening tests, although there are other screening
test. Screening for dyslexia does not constitute a diagnostic assessment
of dyslexia and therefore LEAs should not accept a screening for dyslexia
as the sole evidence of dyslexia. There is no requirement for a student to
undergo a screening for dyslexia when providing their evidence of dyslexia
for HE purposes.


Full Diagnostic evidence of dyslexia

C31 It is recommended that diagnostic reports provided by chartered,
educational, clinical and occupational psychologists or other qualified
individuals, usually teachers with a qualification in assessing students
with specific learning difficulties, are accepted as evidence of dyslexia.
Teachers who assess dyslexia should hold a qualification from an advanced
training course involving the assessment of adults for dyslexia which is
recognised by the British Dyslexia Association's (BDA) Accreditation Board.
A list of qualifications from courses accredited by the BDA is contained at
Appendix 10 in this chapter. Information is also available on the BDA
website:

www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk/main/accreditation


C32 It is recommended that a full diagnostic assessment of a higher
education student for dyslexia should contain the following evidence:


· evidence of any significant difficulties in reading, writing,
spelling and numeracy relevant to the standards in these skills required in
higher education;
· evidence of a significant discrepancy between the abilities in
reading, writing, spelling and numeracy and the level of those abilities
expected of the student in terms of their general intellectual ability;
· evidence of cognitive disabilities or neurological anomalies (memory,
visual perception, phonological processing or motor coordination) which are
likely to have adverse effects on learning; and
· evidence that the learning difficulties identified are likely to
affect learning in higher education.
C33 Once that an LEA has accepted a diagnostic report there is no
requirement for a student to undergo a new diagnosis later in the course.
A diagnostic report accepted for a first course should also be acceptable
for subsequent courses, including postgraduate courses.


C34 If the diagnosis was carried out before the age of 16, the student
should normally be asked to undergo an 'Assessment of Performance
Attainment' which would provide an update on their current performance in
reading, writing and spelling. Intelligence is unlikely to change
significantly even if the student was diagnosed as a child and therefore
there is no requirement for another assessment of intelligence. However,
reading, writing and spelling could change in adulthood. The 'Assessment
of Performance Attainment is a 'top up' diagnosis which provides up to date
evidence of the student's current degree of difficulty in reading, writing
and spelling. The top up diagnosis is to establish the likely impact of the
student's specific learning difficulties on the skills needed for higher
education. The top up diagnosis should be based on standardised tests
suitable for adults, for example, the Wider Range Achievement Tests (WRAT)
and Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT). LEAs may also wish to consult
section 145 of the Report of the National Working Party on Dyslexia in
Higher Education (published in January 1999) for further advice on tests
and general advice on dyslexia in higher education. Copies of this
publication may be obtained from the University of Hull, Dept. of
Psychology (tel. 01482 466154). The Assessment of Performance Attainment
is part of the diagnosis and the cost should be met by the student,
although an application may be made to the institution's discretionary
Hardship Fund to meet the cost. The Assessment of Performance Attainment
could be carried out by a Special Needs Teacher or qualified psychologists.



C35 The diagnostic report should state that because the student has
dyslexia he should receive extra support to compensate for these
difficulties. The diagnostic report will often classify the dyslexia into 3
bands, severe, moderate and mild. Mild dyslexia does not always mean that
the student will encounter mild problems as mild dyslexia can cause severe
problems and still need support to compensate. Therefore, the written
report of a relevant specialist or expert whose qualifications have been
checked should be sufficient to enable the student to proceed to the next
stage of the process, the assessment of course related needs. There is no
requirement for LEAs to consider the level or severity of dyslexia. The
judgement on eligibility made by a qualified professional should be
accepted unless it can be shown that the supporting evidence is inadequate
to have reasonably formed a view; for example, the evidence is out of date,
irrelevant to the applicant or very cursory. In such circumstances, further
information should be sought and the views of university Disability
Officers should also be taken into account.

C36 There should be no need for the LEA's educational psychologist to
provide a second opinion on a diagnosis already made by another
professional. However, if an LEA is dissatisfied with the written evidence
provided on dyslexia it can seek further evidence or request a new full
diagnostic report.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------

Kath Henderson
Team Leader - Student Support
Education Department
Overseas House
PO Box 191
Quay Street
Manchester Tel. No: 0161 234 7076
M3 3ST Fax No: 0161 234 7004





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