A new, unique online literacy assessor has been launched that claims to be able to highlight dyslexic-type literacy difficulties in children – and it’s now available for all schools in the UK to make use of, absolutely free!
The IDL Literacy Screener is a piece of software designed and created by International Dyslexia Learning Solutions Limited that has launched this week. It takes the form of a simple online test that can be taken in around half an hour for most learners. It’s easy to administer, and it only requires one teacher, support educator or SENCO to invigilate it, and because of its computer-based, quiz-style design, it’s a great way of getting younger learners to engage with it organically.
The test is comprised of eleven individual tasks that assess auditory processing, visual processing, short-term memory, processing speed and organising and sequencing skills, and it’s designed to be in-depth enough so that an accurate assessment of skill and problem areas can be gleaned from the results data. They’re tasks that many of us might recognise form our own dyslexia assessments, such as naming and sounding letters, sequencing objects and demonstrating how well we can remember information we take in in an auditory fashion. It’s also customisable in terms of its colour and user interface, which means that users who have previously identified conditions that might mean they struggle to look at a traditional black-on-white text display can create a testing experience that’s comfortable and customised to them.
Schools interested in the IDL free dyslexia screening tool can find out more by emailing hello@idlsgroup.com, or compete a free trial by registering their interest on the IDLS website. This ease of access is part of IDL’s pledge to lift the barriers in learning and open up the world of literacy to every pupil, and it’s a big help for schools and councils that might be struggling to recruit qualified SENCO staff or not have a great prevalence of dyslexia assessors.
And although we’d still always advocate heading to a professional if your results seem to indicate you might have dyslexia, this kind of online screener is a great time-saving device when it comes to making sure that we’re screening across the board, picking up on literacy difference sin children as early as we can, and linking them up with the support and the resources that they need to thrive in education.
Find out more at The IDL Literacy Screener!