Hallo Jenny,

I used to use Lads when I did screening at Oxford Brookes.  As with 
others comments, I observed students doing it and didn't let them do it 
on their own.  I found it very useful in that way; you can objectively 
see patterns and behaviours that students are using.

Best wishes,
Ginny Stacey

Mary Hutton wrote:

> Hello Jenny,
>
> I'd like to confirm what Julie has said.  The LADS is an extremely 
> useful screening tool, but only if it is administered by a suitably 
> qualified person.  It's not designed for a screening whereby students 
> are left on their own to complete the test, print out the results and 
> leave.  As with all diagnosis, it's important to use it in conjunction 
> with an interview, an awareness of how the student is tackling the 
> tests and the tester to look at the results first, so that the 
> feedback on the profile is appropriate.  It should definitely be seen 
> as something to be done on an appointment basis, so the relevant time 
> can be allotted to the whole process.
>
> Best wishes,
> Mary
>
> Dyslexia Tutor
> Student Sevices
> Ravensbourne College of Design and Technology
> www.rave.ac.uk
>
> Julie Summers wrote:
>
>> Hi Jenny
>>  
>> We've been using it here at the University of Glasgow at the 
>> 'dyslexia query' stage of our in-house needs assessments and we 
>> supervise students while they are doing the test. We arrange 
>> 'dyslexia query' appointments and generally don't do such 
>> appointments on a drop-in basis.  We've carried out on average one 
>> LADS session per week since we first started using it one year ago.  
>> We find that students are happy accepting the results of a 
>> computerised screening test. We've found that a significant number of 
>> students who have gone through the test have a low probability of 
>> having dyslexia and, upon closer questioning, find that learning 
>> difficulties are often due to other non-diagnosed conditions (eg post 
>> traumatic stress disorder and other mental health difficulties) and 
>> factors such as truanting during secondary education, disruptive 
>> schooling, etc, which are not disability-related. The LADS result 
>> allows us to signpost the student to other support services as 
>> appropriate.
>>  
>> Kind regards
>>  
>> Julie Summers
>> Student Disability Service
>> University of Glasgow
>> www.gla.ac.uk/studentdisability <http://www.gla.ac.uk/studentdisability>
>>  
>>
>>  -----Original Message-----
>> *From:* Discussion list for disabled students and their support 
>> staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]*On Behalf Of *Jenny Brady
>> *Sent:* 15 February 2006 13:12
>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>> *Subject:* LADS software for dyslexia screening
>>
>>     Hi
>>          I'm looking into the possibility of using this computer based
>>     dyslexia screening tool (LADS) and was wondering whether anyone
>>     had any wisdom they would like to pass on about its effectiveness
>>     as a tool, any drawbacks and how you actually go about
>>     administering it in your institution (e.g on a drop-in basis/
>>     appointments/ with or without supervision?)
>>          your comments would be much appreciated.
>>          Jenny
>>     
>>     Jenny Brady
>>     Disability Co-ordinator
>>     Disability Services
>>     Ground Floor, Social Sciences Building
>>     University of Leeds
>>     Leeds, LS2 9JT
>>
>>     Tel: 0113 3433927
>>     Fax: 0113 3433944
>>     email: [log in to unmask]
>>

-- 
Dr Ginny Stacey
Senior Dyslexia Study Tutor and Researcher
Tel: (01865 2)72495

University Laboratory of Physiology
Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PT