Dyslexia Or Something Else
ADHD and dyslexia: telling them apart, and when it is both
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Online Dyslexia Assessment for Children and Teenagers
Find Out Where Reading Is Breaking Down
Dr Lauren Crumlish (PhD), Certified Practising Speech Pathologist, works out which reading, spelling and language skills are holding your child back. It all happens by video, from home, anywhere in Australia.
- First year of school to Year 12, up to age 18
- $890 or $1,290 for the assessment, published in full
- Not a formal diagnosis: that is usually a psychologist’s job, and this site explains who does what
Apply Now
Not sure yet? Take the free screener
Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability.
Dr Lauren's research
is published in
2024 Dean's Award The University of Queensland
- PhD The University of Queensland
- Certified Practising Speech Pathologist
- 2024 Dean’s Award The University of Queensland
- Published Peer-reviewed research
What It Looks At
Four Questions The Assessment Answers
A dyslexia assessment with Dr Lauren Crumlish answers four questions about your child’s reading. Each one points to a different reason reading can be hard, and each calls for different help.
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Can they hear the sounds inside words?
Reading starts with sounds, not letters. A child who cannot hear that “ship” is three sounds has nothing to attach the letters to, so sounding out and spelling both stall. Trouble with the sounds in words is the most common root of dyslexia.
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Sound awareness: rhyme, and splitting and blending the sounds in a word
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Sound memory: holding sounds in order long enough to blend a longer word
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Can they read the words, and how quickly?
Some children can sound a word out, but each word costs so much effort that the sentence is lost. Others guess from the first letter or the picture. Accuracy and speed are looked at separately, because a child can be accurate and still far too slow.
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Reading accuracy: real words and unfamiliar ones
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Reading rate: how smoothly a passage is read
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Rapid naming: how quickly familiar names, such as letters or colours, come to mind
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Do they understand what they read?
Reading the words and understanding them are two different jobs. A child who reads a page accurately but cannot say what it was about may have a difficulty with language, not with decoding, and that is not the same thing as dyslexia.
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Reading comprehension: what your child takes from a passage
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Oral language: how your child understands and uses spoken words and sentences
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Can they get words onto the page?
Spelling asks for the same sound and letter knowledge as reading, in reverse, so it usually shows the difficulty most clearly. The pattern of errors matters more than the number: whether every sound is there, and whether the letters chosen could make those sounds.
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Spelling: the kinds of errors, not only how many
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Writing: how your child puts sentences on paper, alongside what you and the school have noticed
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Dr Lauren also looks at working memory, the skill of holding information in mind while using it, because it affects all four.
An assessment, not a diagnosis
What This Assessment Tells You, And What It Does Not
Dr Lauren assesses reading, spelling and the language skills underneath. Her assessment shows which skills are holding your child’s reading back, how far, and what to work on next.
A formal diagnosis of dyslexia is usually made by a psychologist. A family who needs a formal diagnosis will also need a psychologist’s assessment, at that provider’s fee. Read who can diagnose dyslexia in Australia before you decide where to start.
How It Works
How A Dyslexia Assessment Works By Video
The assessment is done online, so your child takes part from home, wherever you live in Australia.
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Apply
Tell us about your child, what you have noticed and what the school has said. It takes about three minutes.
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Our team reviews your application
Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability, so a place cannot be guaranteed, and not every application receives an individual reply.
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Get ready at home
A device with a camera, a quiet room, and school reports to hand.
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The assessment, by video
Your child works one to one with Dr Lauren on screen.
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Findings and next steps
You learn what is holding reading back and who, if anyone, to see next.
Fees
Dyslexia Assessment Fees
The fees are published, so you know the cost before you apply. Dr Lauren recommends the level once she understands the concerns.
The assessment
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$890
Mid-Length Assessment
Where reading, spelling or writing is the main concern
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$1,290
Long Assessment
Where language and literacy both need a detailed look
A Medicare rebate needs a GP referral made before the appointment and covers part of the fee. Private health may apply. Dr Lauren is not NDIS registered: self-managed and plan-managed participants are welcome, NDIA-managed funding cannot be used, and whether a plan can pay depends on the plan. See costs and rebates
Afterwards, if you continue
Session
One hour of service: 45 minutes with Dr Lauren, 15 minutes of preparation and notes
$193
Who Does The Assessment
Dr Lauren Crumlish, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist
Dr Lauren Crumlish assesses reading, spelling and the language skills underneath, and works with children with dyslexia. She does every assessment herself. Her doctoral research at The University of Queensland studied which outcomes matter most for children and adolescents with communication difficulties after a brain injury. Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability.
- PhD, The University of Queensland (UQ)
- 2024 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Higher Degree by Research Theses
- Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP)
- B.Biomed.Sc (Hons. 1) and MSpPathSt (Hons. 1)
Not Ready To Apply?
Three Places To Start
If you are still working out whether your child’s reading needs a closer look, start with one of these.
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Check the signs
What dyslexia looks like before school, in primary school and in high school, and what is not a sign on its own.
Signs of dyslexia -
Take the free screener
A short set of questions for parents, in Australian school terms. It is a screener, not a diagnosis.
Free dyslexia screener -
Understand how diagnosis works
The steps from first worry to a formal diagnosis in Australia, and who does each one.
How dyslexia is diagnosed
Guides For Parents
Understand What You Are Seeing
Plain guides on what dyslexia looks like in a child’s reading and writing, and how to tell it from other difficulties.
All Guides-
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Dyslexia Or Something Else
Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia: the differences
Four words that sound alike and mean different things. A side by side table of dyslexia vs dysgraphia, dyscalculia and...
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Signs
What dyslexia looks like in reading and writing
Dyslexia shows in how a child reads aloud and spells, not in how they see. Typed examples of both, the...
Questions
Dyslexia Assessment Questions
Can a dyslexia assessment be done online?
Yes. Every dyslexia assessment with Dr Lauren Crumlish is done by video, so where you live in Australia makes no difference. She sees and hears your child read aloud, spell and answer questions in real time. A laptop or tablet with a camera, a reliable connection and a room without interruptions is all the setup it needs.
Is a dyslexia assessment with Dr Lauren a diagnosis?
No. Dr Lauren assesses reading, spelling and the language skills underneath, and explains where reading is breaking down and what to do next. A formal diagnosis of dyslexia is usually made by a psychologist, so a family who needs a formal diagnosis will also need a psychologist's assessment, at that provider's fee.
Which assessment will my child need, $890 or $1,290?
You do not pick one. Tell us what you have noticed when you apply, and Dr Lauren recommends a level once she understands the concerns. As a rule of thumb, $890 (Mid-Length) covers a child whose trouble sits in the written word, and $1,290 (Long) adds a fuller look at talking and listening when those are a worry too.
Is my child too young for a dyslexia assessment?
If your child has started school, no. Assessments with Dr Lauren run from the first year of school to Year 12. A reading difficulty can only be measured once reading has been taught, so for a child not yet at school the useful step is the before-school checklist on this site, not an assessment.
Can we share what Dr Lauren finds with the school?
Yes, what Dr Lauren finds is yours to share. What a school does with it is the school's decision: the school and your state's curriculum authority decide what evidence they accept for adjustments, and some require a psychologist's report. Ask the school what it needs before you apply.
What if it is not dyslexia?
Then the assessment has still done its job. It looks at each skill reading depends on, so it can show a difficulty with understanding language, a gap in what has been taught, or a pattern that someone else should look at, such as attention, vision or hearing. Dr Lauren tells you what she found and who to see next.
Can we use Medicare, private health or the NDIS?
A Medicare rebate needs a referral from your GP made before the appointment, and it covers part of the fee, not all of it. Private health may apply, depending on your cover. Dr Lauren is not NDIS registered: self-managed and plan-managed participants are welcome, NDIA-managed funding cannot be used, and whether a plan can pay depends on the plan.
Do you assess adults?
No. Dr Lauren assesses school-aged children and teenagers up to 18. An adult who wants an assessment can start with their GP or with the SPELD organisation in their state.
Dyslexia Assessment With Dr Lauren
Apply Now
Dr Lauren works with a small number of families and has limited availability. Our team will review your application. A place cannot be guaranteed, and not every application receives an individual reply.
Apply Now- Online, Australia Wide
- Reading, Spelling And Language
- Children And Teenagers Up To 18
- $890 Or $1,290