My 8-yr-old daughter has ADHD (combined type) and will be entering 3rd grade. She currently has twice weekly private tutoring by an Orton-Gillingham-trained tutor. Her tutor and I suspect dyslexia may be impeding her reading progress as she is very smart and capable in many other areas. She is very positive and joyful overall. She loves school and would be very compliant in a testing situation. I was wondering if she would also be a candidate for diagnostic testing for dyslexia? I myself am an early childhood/elementary school trained teacher, so I know the importance of diagnosis and early intervention. If you could please provide me with any recommendations or information on testing and/or research, I would appreciate it. We understand that private testing is very expensive and insurance does not cover it.

You are correct about the importance of early diagnosis and tailored intervention, especially now that your daughter is 8 years old. The school curriculum, as you know, is transitioning from ‘learning to read’ to using her ‘reading to learn’ — and it is when we can see our students with dyslexia struggle even more. 

Here is some information I have on DyslexiaHelp about assessment:

• https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/parents/learn-about-dyslexia/evaluation/
• https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/ask-dr-pierson/go-with-your-gut/
• https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/ask-dr-pierson/de-myth-tifying-dyslexia-diagnostic-assessment/

And, a good comprehensive assessment will lay the groundwork for intervention. 

Here’s a piece that I wrote about intervention — https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/dyslexics/living-with-dyslexia/structured-literacy-setting-the-stage-for-student-literacy-success/

Last, given that she has been receiving intervention, which we know works, you will want to be sure that the diagnostician understands this important aspect as they proceed through the diagnostic testing. More than once, I have evaluated a student who indeed is dyslexic, but who was not diagnosed such because they had made improvement in their phonological awareness skills and did not meet qualifying criteria (i.e., their scores in phonological awareness were above the 10th percentile). 

Wishing you the best of luck as you navigate this process.