The Diagnostic Center for Dyslexia & Related Disorders

The Diagnostic Center for Dyslexia and Related Disorders is administered by SMU’s Learning Therapy Center, which is one of the programs within the School's Department of Teaching and Learning.

Center Objectives

The Diagnostic Center was established in response to a community need for services that evaluate individuals for learning disorders related to reading acquisition and comprehension. Dyslexia is involved in most disorders of this type, which include developmental spelling disability, developmental auditory imperception, dysgraphia, and dysphasia. The Center is dedicated to providing comprehensive evaluative services and appropriate medical, psychological, and educational referrals and recommendations to children, adolescents, and adults who are at risk for dyslexia.

Dyslexia

According to the International Dyslexia Association (2002), dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and a reluctance to read, both of which can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Dyslexia is not due to a vision problem, seeing “backwards,” lack of intelligence, lack of effort, lack of education, disease, attention issues, or emotional problems.

The Educational Imperative

The No Child Left Behind legislation and the accompanying high-stakes testing place the child with dyslexia at a significant disadvantage. Dyslexia increases the probability that these students will fail TAKS. If a dyslexic student is unable to pass TAKS and ineligible for special education, retention is the consequence—despite relatively broad recognition that retention is inappropriate remediation for a student with dyslexia.

The Texas dyslexia legislation mandates that each school district provide assessment and remediation for dyslexia; most districts provide these services through special education. Unfortunately, the majority of educational diagnosticians who render special education assessments have received little-to-no training in the diagnosis of specific dyslexia.

The Diagnostic Center’s Services

The Center provides both initial and follow-up evaluation services for children, adolescents, and adults. Comprehensive initial evaluation services are available to individuals who have exhibited symptoms of dyslexia. Based on the evaluation results, the Center helps these clients secure appropriate remediation and/or accommodations (e.g., a time modified SAT or ACT) and provides medical and psychological referrals if warranted.

Re-evaluation services are available to individuals who have previously been diagnosed with dyslexia but require a follow-up evaluation and diagnosis in order to continue receiving remediation and/or accommodations. Again, the Center provides clients with appropriate recommendations and assistance in securing accommodations.

Candidates for Evaluation

Individuals (kindergarteners through adults) who exhibit difficulty with word recognition, spelling, reading comprehension, phonological processing, basic reading skills, reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and written expression.

An Evaluation

The extent of an evaluation is determined by the particular needs of the client, but it typically includes a battery of tests that assess a combination of the following:

• Family and/or individual history of learning disabilities
• Cognitive abilities
• Word decoding skills
• Phonological awareness
• Reading comprehension
• Reading rate & fluency
• Spelling
• Handwriting
• Written expression

A typical battery of tests takes 6 to 8 hours. The testing is rigorous and will ideally be divided into two sessions. It is particularly important to schedule testing over two days for younger clients and for clients with attention disorders.

Evaluation results are provided in a comprehensive written report and reviewed in a face-to-face diagnostician-to-client/parents conference. Recommendations and referrals are provided as warranted, as is assistance in securing appropriate accommodations and remediation. Follow-up phone conference with the client/parents is held approximately six weeks after the evaluation.

Center Accountability

The SMU Diagnostic Center for Dyslexia and Related Disorders meets or exceeds the mandates for the identification of dyslexia established in:

• Texas Education Code (TEC) §38.003
• Chapter 19 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §74.28
• §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• §504 criteria for documenting need for college-level accommodations
• Feedback from parents and clients.

For More Information

The Diagnostic Center for Dyslexia & Related Disorders
5236 Tennyson Parkway, Building 4, Suite 108
Plano, Texas 75024
Phone: 214-SMU-READ (768-7323)
Fax: 972-473-3442
eMail: reading@smu.edu