For adults, university and college students
An adult diagnosis usually does two things: it explains a lot of history, and it gives you a description of how you work best. The practical next step differs enormously from person to person. This page is about finding yours.
Step by step
There is no rush. These are in a sensible order rather than an urgent one.
The summary, conclusions and recommendations are the working part of the report. The score tables are the evidence behind them, not the point of them.
Most adults arrive at assessment with a set of strategies built over years. Naming them matters. You keep the ones that work and stop apologising for needing them.
Two or three situations usually account for most of the difficulty: dense reading, written communication, proofreading, meetings, deadlines, or holding information while doing something else.
Text-to-speech, dictation, a different note-taking method, a proofreading stage built into your process. Small changes tested properly beat a long list you never start.
This is entirely your decision. There is no obligation to tell an employer anything, and disclosure is not required to try most practical strategies.
A diagnosis in adulthood often reframes a lot of history. That takes a while to settle, and it is worth revisiting the report a few weeks later.
University and college
Your institution, not Defining Dyslexia, decides what support it puts in place and what evidence it needs. The sooner you speak to them, the more time there is to arrange things.
Find the disability or student support service and ask what evidence they require, in what format, and what happens next. Requirements vary between institutions.
Many institutions produce a learning support plan or agreement that goes to your department. Ask how yours works and who sees it.
Disabled Students' Allowance may be available depending on your circumstances. Eligibility and evidence requirements are decided by the funding body, not by your assessor.
Reading load, note-taking, planning assignments and building in a proofreading stage. Your report's recommendations are the place to start.
Text-to-speech, speech-to-text, reference managers and mind-mapping tools. Ask student support what your institution already provides.
Ask your institution about its own process and timescales for examination arrangements. These are its decisions, made under its own regulations.
More detail: preparing for university with dyslexia · university and college assessments · free resources and checklists. No one can guarantee DSA eligibility or any particular support, those decisions sit with the funding body and your institution.
Work
Dyslexia at work often looks different from dyslexia at school. The reading is denser, the writing is more public, and nobody is teaching you strategies any more.
Professional examinations
Professional bodies, awarding organisations and training providers each set their own requirements for evidence and for any adjustment. Ask them first, before arranging anything.
A diagnostic report is evidence you can submit. It is not, by itself, an arrangement, the body running the examination decides what it will accept and what it will put in place.
Professional exams and qualifications sets out the order to do this in, and do I need a new assessment? covers whether an existing report will do. If you are considering a benefits application, PIP and dyslexia explains what a report can and cannot address.
Knowledge Centre
For adults and students in the period after an assessment.
Receiving a dyslexia assessment as an adult can be a genuinely life-changing moment. For many people it brings an enormous sense of relief, finally having an explanation for…
Read the articleMany adults living with dyslexia were never identified during their school years. Some developed coping strategies so effective that their difficulties went unnoticed by teachers and…
Read the articleWhen parents receive a dyslexia assessment report, one of the first things they notice is the numbers. There are scores for reading, spelling, memory, processing speed, and more, and it…
Read the articleGoing to university is a significant step for any student. For students with dyslexia, it can also bring a fresh set of questions. Additionally, it can bring relief, because university…
Read the articleIf you are a student with dyslexia, or the parent of one heading to university, you may have come across the term DSA. It is one of the most significant sources of support available, and…
Read the articleAfter a dyslexia assessment, you will receive a written report. For many families and adults, this is the document they have been working towards, and it can feel like a lot to take in…
Read the articleWhere are you on the journey?
Pick the one that matches your situation now.
