Assessments for specific learning difficulties

Assessments for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyspraxia are carried out at the University as part of the Study Advice service.

If you think you may be dyslexic or dyspraxic, you might find it helpful to have an initial chat with a Study Adviser who can give you the information you need to help you decide whether to have an assessment.

Booking an assessment

Assessments are booked through the Study Advice secretary. The best way to book is to send an email to studyadvice@reading.ac.uk. You will receive a registration email asking for some more information about you and your course. Please complete and return this as quickly as possible.

Once you have returned your registration email, you will be placed on our assessment waiting list. Please be patient, as the list can be quite long at busy times! If you feel you have been waiting a very long time, do get in touch by dropping into the Study Advice offices while the reception is open (10.00-16.00) or emailing studyadvice@reading.ac.uk.  

We will contact you to arrange a date and time when your name comes to the top of the list, usually by phone, so please make sure we have an up-to-date contact number for you. We do need to speak to students directly and cannot book appointments via parents. (The number will come up as 'Number withheld' so please do answer!)

Charges for assessment

Assessments are free for students in receipt of University of Reading bursaries and PhD students. For most other students, there is a charge for assessment of £150. This is subsidised by the University and is considerably less than the cost of a privately arranged assessment. (Students at Greenlands campus and the College of Estate Management will be charged a higher non-subsidised fee. Please ask us for details.) Information on how to pay will be provided when the assessment is booked.

If you feel that you would like to be assessed, but paying the charge will cause you hardship, please book a meeting with a Study Adviser to discuss possible solutions. It is worth noting that if your assessment confirms that you have a specific learning difficulty, you may be able to claim Disabled Student Allowance, the benefits of which will offset the cost of assessment.

When you come for an assessment...

We provide full educational psychologist assessments which will help you to understand your strengths as well as any weaknesses you may have in your learning practices. Each assessment involves various activities to show how your brain processes information - not just spelling and reading tests.

Assessments typically take between two and a half and three hours to complete, so expect to spend a whole morning or afternoon on this. You will be asked to bring with you some examples of your work for the assessor to see.

Assessments take place in the Study Advice offices on the first floor of the Library. At the time of your assessment, come straight up to our offices in Room 103 and wait in the waiting area. If for any reason you are not able to keep the appointment, please let us know as soon as possible by calling (0118) 378 4242 and leaving a message if you get the answerphone.

After the assessment

A full report on the assessment is completed, which typically takes two or three weeks. You will then be contacted to book a brief follow-up appointment (less than 30 minutes). At this meeting, you will receive a copy of the report, and the assessor will explain her findings and any special provisions that she has recommended (e.g. extra time in exams, stickers to be placed on work asking the marker to overlook spelling and grammar errors etc). As all our assessments are confidential, we will also ask you to sign a form to give us permission to contact the Examinations Office and your Dept or School's Disability Representative.

The special provisions are designed only to put you on a more level playing field with other students: they will not give you any unfair advantage. Students with specific learning difficulties achieve the same full range of degree classifications as other students, from Firsts to passes. However they will usually need to work harder than other students, and it will certainly be more important to work as effectively as possible. The Study Advisers can help you to develop your study practices through one-to-one sessions, Study Guides and workshops. You may also be able to get some dedicated support from dyslexia tutors through the Disability Advisory Service.