Sheffield Dyslexia Centre

 Why SDC do not offer a dyslexia screening service.

The purpose of any type of screener within the health or education sectors is to enable professionals to look at a large number of individuals, in order to detect those who need further investigation. They are not in themselves, diagnostic.

Due to their nature, all screeners produce a percentage of results showing false positives and false negatives. In other words, they miss some who are affected by whatever is being looked for and will identify some as affected, who are not.

Therefore, although dyslexia screeners can be useful for a large group, for example a school or college year group, they have limited value for the individual.

We conclude that, if you are contacting us, you have already identified that there is a problem with you or your child, so you have already acted in the role as screener. What your next step should be will depend on your particular circumstances. It may, or may not be, to undertake a diagnostic assessment. We suggest you email us, and we can advise accordingly.