I work in a rural community and people often don’t have access to dyslexia programs. If we had speech/language therapists interested in becoming more well-trained to administer professional tests to diagnose dyslexia, is there a particular training/program you would recommend?

I’m so glad to learn that your speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are interested in getting training in diagnosing (and hopefully treating) dyslexia! SLPs are the ideal professionals to work with individuals with reading disorder given that dyslexia is a developmental language disorder. SLPs are trained diagnosticians, so learning to diagnose reading, spelling, and writing will increase their reach.

At this point, they are likely going to have to design (i.e., seek out) their own professional development. They could hire someone to conduct a workshop(s)/professional development on assessment and diagnosis for them. I have found that, ideally, a series of workshops works best, where material is introduced, participants return to their clinical environment, try what they have learned out, and then come back for questions and next steps.

Another option would be to convene a group to do some reading and discussion together. They could begin by reading David Kilpatrick’s book on assessment Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. Sally Shaywitz’s book Overcoming Dyslexia, written for parents, is also a good, accessible book. I have many books referenced here.

Diagnosticians will definitely need to know how to administer and interpret the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing – 2 (CTOPP-2), given that deficits in phonological processing undergird reading/spelling challenges. They will also need to understand how to administer and interpret tests of reading, spelling, and writing. They should learn the difference between phonological errors and orthographic errors in reading and spelling to interpret where the student’s challenges are originating from. I have many of the measures listed here.

They could also begin with attending the International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) annual conference or a conference by their local IDA branch. The annual conference of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) may also cover literacy-related topics.

Here is some other information I have on DyslexiaHelp that might be of interest.

• http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/learn-about-dyslexia/diagnosing-dyslexia

Here is information should they decide to learn about intervention as they do need to know what to recommend should a student evidence dyslexia.

• http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/dyslexia-school/structured-literacy
• http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/dyslexia-school