Disabilities and Chronic Conditions Learning Disabilities Assessments and Teaching Tools for Dyslexia By Ann Logsdon Updated on September 13, 2020 Fact checked by Cara Lustik Print Ariel Skelley/Getty Images Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Assessments Educators Response Special Education Programs Learning Strategies Dyslexia is a reading and language disorder that is typically identified in children after they take assessments and evaluations to spot reading disorders in students. With this review of the learning disability, learn basic information about dyslexia and how it affects a student's reading, writing and language skills. This guide also includes tips and resources for parents seeking to help children with dyslexia. Assessments and Evaluations Dyslexia testing is the first step in identifying strategies for dyslexic students. Schools use evaluations for diagnosis of dyslexia. The dyslexia evaluation process can also provide important information to help teachers in planning the student's program. Analysis of the student's responses to test items and their performance on various scales of standardized dyslexia tests can provide important insights into how they learn. Students with dyslexia or disorders in basic reading and reading comprehension can benefit from the specific information dyslexia evaluation analysis provides. How Educators Respond to Test Results Special education teachers and school psychologists can work closely with the dyslexic student to analyze his work and gain immediate feedback and information on the types of reading and writing errors the student makes. This information can be very helpful in determining which teaching strategies may help the student and in developing special instruction. Developing Special Education Programs Many strategies can help children with dyslexia manage reading disorder and thrive in class. It is very important for parents and educators to choose methods specifically based on the student's learning strengths. Parents and educators should also consider how dyslexia affects the child and the evaluation information. It is equally important to monitor the child's progress to measure the effectiveness of interventions. It may be necessary to try different methods or use a combination of methods to meet a dyslexic child's learning needs. Learning Strategies That Help Students Teachers can implement the following strategies to help students with dyslexia improve their reading skills. Parents may also try some of these techniques at home: Individual tutoring allows teachers to work with students with dyslexia in one-on-one sessions to give students immediate guidance and feedback as they learn to read. This method allows teachers to spot learning errors quickly, so they do not impair future learning. Multisensory methods teach dyslexic students through their senses of touch, hearing, and sight. Phonics methods focus on the dyslexic student's connections between sounds and their letter symbols. Speech and language therapy can help students with phonological disorders focus on teaching students to recognize sight words and other strategies to effectively manage their learning differences. Whole language methods teach students by emphasizing natural reading activities and sight word vocabulary. In many cases, a student's reading skills may develop naturally from this exposure. 2 Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Hebert M, Kearns DM, Hayes JB, Bazis P, Cooper S. Why Children With Dyslexia Struggle With Writing and How to Help Them. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2018;49(4):843-863. doi:10.1044/2018_LSHSS-DYSLC-18-0024 Snowling MJ. Early identification and interventions for dyslexia: a contemporary view. J Res Spec Educ Needs. 2013;13(1):7-14. doi:10.1111/j.1471-3802.2012.01262.x By Ann Logsdon Ann Logsdon is a school psychologist specializing in helping parents and teachers support students with a range of educational and developmental disabilities. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Helpful Report an Error Other Submit