Dyslexia - Tutoring and Assessments

If you are looking for a specialist Dyslexia tutor or need an assessment to determine if your child has Dyslexia, I can help.

I am a qualified teacher with 21 years’ experience and an interest in special needs education for much of this time. I hold Approved Teacher Status (British Dyslexia Association) and Associate Membership of the British Dyslexia Association.

Based in Chepstow, I offer a range of Dyslexia Assessments and one to one tutoring support. I help students develop their confidence and the skills they need to make better progress.

Dyslexia Tutoring Support

I believe it is very important that students are counselled so that they see their Dyslexia as an opportunity not a hindrance.  My aim is to develop those skills along with the confidence to try different approaches to study.

Tutoring a student with Dyslexia or dyslexic traits requires a very sensitive approach as the student and parents can be resistant to ‘labelling’. The important thing to remember is that a diagnosis or assessment of a dyslexic profile should be seen as the unlocking of a door. Previously the ‘door’ has been kept shut preventing progression. The assessment will indicate why the door was shut and the subsequent tutoring will make full use of the assessment to inform the support required.

Dyslexia is referred to as a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD). I like to think of it as a Specific Learning Difference. With patience, understanding and the right interventions there is no reason why a student with Dyslexia cannot make progress in class.

Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence and so can be found across the spectrum of ability. It is prevalent in up to 10% of the population. Most students with Dyslexia already have a range of strategies that they use in class. Further tutoring will add to the range of strategies available to the student. It is rather like adding new tools to a toolbox or new apps to a phone.

Dyslexia Assessments

I am pleased offer a service to assess children up the age of 17 to determine if they have a profile that is consistent with that of a learner with Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a learning difference that tends to impact on reading and spelling. It may, however, cause a person to have issues in other areas such as:

  • Organisation

  • Left/right confusion

  • Short term memory

  • Comprehension

  • Ability to get ideas down on paper vs. verbal explanation.

  • Inconsistent spelling errors

  • Time management

  • Discrimination of sounds

  • Speed of recall

The key to success is all about understanding the different ways in which children with dyslexia learn. Once the key (to the ‘door’ I mentioned earlier) has been found, appropriate support can be devised to enable the student to gain confidence, learn and make progress.

The assessment process

This can usually be arranged within 10 days of your first contact with me. It takes about 3 hours to complete and will involve a comprehensive analysis of your child's working memory; their ability to process sounds; their speed of processing; their reading fluency and accuracy; their underlying ability and their handwriting.

I will provide a detailed report (in hard copy and digital formats) normally within three weeks of the assessment.

Costs

A full assessment for Dyslexia will cost £300 plus travelling expenses if needed.

Please drop me a line so that we can have a chat about your concerns, your child's needs and the best way forward from there.