Understanding Diagnostic Reports

The CTOPP-2 is a test often used by psychologists and specialist teachers to check how a child processes sounds in words. This is important for understanding reading difficulties, especially in children who might have dyslexia.

What Does It Measure?

The CTOPP-2 looks at three main areas:

Phonological Awareness – Can your child hear and work with the individual sounds in words?

This includes tasks like breaking words into sounds (e.g., hearing that cat has the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/) or blending sounds together to make words.

Phonological Memory – Can your child remember sounds or made-up words for a short time?

This helps us understand how well your child can hold onto sound-based information, which is important for learning new words and spelling.

Rapid Naming – How quickly can your child name things like letters, numbers, colours, or objects?

This tells us how easily your child can retrieve sounds or words from memory and say them quickly and accurately.

Why Is This Test Useful?

It helps identify children who struggle with key sound-based reading skills.

It shows strengths and weaknesses so support can be tailored to your child.

It can track your child’s progress after intervention (like tutoring or phonics programmes).

It gives clear evidence for schools or EHCP applications.

What Will My Child Be Asked to Do?

The CTOPP-2 has 12 mini-tasks (called subtests) such as:

• Elision – Say a word without one of its sounds (e.g., “Say stop without the /s/” → top).

• Blending Words – Listen to separate sounds and say the whole word (e.g., /d/ /o/ /g/ → “dog”).

• Phoneme Isolation – Pick out one sound in a word (e.g., “What’s the first sound in sun?”).

• Sound Matching – Find which words begin or end with the same sound.

• Blending Nonwords – Put together made-up sounds to make nonsense words (important for testing phonics without relying on memory).

• Segmenting Nonwords – Break up a made-up word into individual sounds.

• Memory for Digits – Remember and repeat numbers in the right order.

• Nonword Repetition – Hear and repeat made-up words.

• Rapid Naming Tasks – Say names of digits, letters, colours, or objects as quickly as possible.

These tasks help professionals build a full picture of how your child is processing and using spoken language to support reading.

The DASH-2 is a test used to understand why a child or young person may struggle with handwriting speed or neatness. It helps professionals decide what support is needed at school or at home and can be used to help apply for extra support in exams.

🧩 What Does the DASH-2 Measure?

The DASH-2 looks at:

• How fast a child can write.

• How neat or legible their handwriting is.

• How different writing tasks affect performance – such as copying or writing freely.

It helps professionals understand why handwriting might be slow or hard to read and whether it’s linked to things like fine motor skills, grip, or control.

🖊️ What Tasks Are Included?

There are five short writing tasks in the DASH-2:

1. Copy Best – Writing a sentence as neatly as possible.

2. Alphabet Writing – Writing the alphabet as fast as possible.

3. Copy Fast – Writing a sentence as quickly as possible.

4. Free Writing – Writing a story or paragraph based on a picture or prompt.

5. Graphic Speed – Drawing patterns (like loops) to measure pencil speed.

Each task shows different skills like control, speed, pressure, and how writing changes when someone is rushed or relaxed.

👩‍⚕️ Who Uses DASH-2 and Why?

• Occupational Therapists, Specialist Teachers, and Psychologists use the DASH-2 to:

  • Identify handwriting difficulties.

  • Support diagnoses such as dyspraxia or dyslexia.

  • Decide on interventions or treatment plans.

  • Provide evidence for exam access arrangements (like extra time or using a laptop).

  • Monitor progress after therapy or interventions.

🏫 Where Is It Done?

The DASH-2 can be done:

• At school

• In a clinic

• At home

A trained professional will guide your child through each writing task and observe how they manage.

🔍 What Might the Assessment Reveal?

It can help identify:

• Fine motor issues (grip, control, strength)

• Visual perception issues (seeing and copying correctly)

• Postural or coordination issues

• Difficulties with spacing, pressure, or letter formation

• Whether a condition like dyslexia or dyspraxia is affecting handwriting

It also looks at how handwriting problems might affect schoolwork, confidence, or motivation.

🧠 Conditions That Often Use DASH-2

DASH-2 is often used with children who have:

• Dyslexia

• Dyspraxia (DCD)

• Cerebral Palsy

• Muscular Dystrophy

• Other learning or motor difficulties But it’s also helpful even if your child has no formal diagnosis but still struggles with handwriting.

📝 What Will I Get Afterwards?

After the assessment, you can ask for a written report. This will explain:

• What tasks were done

• Where your child had difficulties

• Possible causes of their handwriting challenges

• What help is recommended (e.g. therapy, classroom strategies, exam support)

• A treatment plan with practical steps to support improvement

🛠️ What Support Might Be Offered?

Occupational therapy may include:

• Pencil grip training

• Correct letter formation

• Posture and seating help

• Use of tools like pencil grips or sloped boards

• Exercises to improve finger strength and coordination

• Speed-building practice

• Confidence-boosting strategies

💬 Why Is This Test Important?

Handwriting affects:

• School performance

• Exam results

• Self-esteem

• Independence (e.g. filling forms, writing cards)

The DASH-2 helps to uncover the hidden reasons behind slow or messy handwriting so that your child can get the right help and feel more confident.

🧠 What Is the HAST-2?

The Helen Arkell Spelling Test (HAST-2) is a diagnostic spelling assessment used with individuals aged 5 years to adult. It’s especially helpful for understanding spelling ability, identifying specific difficulties, and tracking progress over time.

It is often used to:

• Support children with spelling difficulties or dyslexia

• Monitor progress after literacy interventions

• Inform Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or EHCPs

• Provide evidence for access arrangements in exams

✍️ What Does the HAST-2 Involve?

The HAST-2 is a single-word spelling test — this means the child or student is given a list of individual words to spell, one at a time.

• Words are spoken aloud in a clear context sentence, then repeated on their own.

• The student writes the word down.

• The test starts at an appropriate level for the child’s age or ability.

• The words gradually become more difficult, covering a wide range of spelling rules and patterns.

It can be done:

• Individually (one-to-one)

• Or in groups (e.g., in class settings)

🧪 What Does the HAST-2 Measure?

The HAST-2 assesses a person’s ability to:

• Hear and understand the spoken word

• Process the word using phonological (sound-letter) knowledge

• Recall spelling patterns and rules

• Apply this knowledge in written form

The test provides:

• Standardised scores (to compare performance with same-age peers)

• Spelling ages

• Diagnostic information on spelling strategies and error patterns

🎯 Why Is the HAST-2 Useful?

✅ Quick to administer
✅ Suitable for a wide age range (5–adult)
✅ Highlights specific spelling difficulties
✅ Provides standardised scores and spelling ages
✅ Helps tailor individualised teaching or support plans

It’s especially valuable for children:

• Who find spelling particularly difficult

• Who are being assessed for dyslexia or literacy difficulties

• Who need evidence for exam support (like extra time or a scribe)

👩‍🏫 Who Uses the HAST-2?

• Specialist Teachers

• Educational Psychologists

• SENCOs

• Classroom Teachers trained in diagnostic testing.

⏱️ What Is the SDMT?

The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is a very quick, simple test (under 5 minutes) that checks how well a person can pay attention, process information, and mentally match symbols with numbers.

It’s used for children aged 8 years and up, and for adults of all ages. Despite its simplicity, it’s a highly sensitive measure of cognitive function, especially in detecting brain-related difficulties or monitoring changes over time.

👁️ What Does the SDMT Involve?

The test involves a symbol substitution task:

• The test taker is shown a key where each symbol corresponds to a number.

• They are then shown a sequence of symbols and must write or say the matching number for each one.

• The task is timed: 90 seconds to complete as many as possible.

• The whole session takes less than 5 minutes.

Responses can be:

• Written (good for group settings or quiet environments)

• Spoken (ideal for those with writing difficulties or motor issues)

🧪 What Does the SDMT Measure?

The SDMT measures:

• Processing speed

• Visual attention

• Working memory

• Cognitive flexibility

These are vital skills for learning, especially for reading, problem-solving, and day-to-day functioning.

🔍 What Can It Help Detect?

Although it's brief, the SDMT is excellent at identifying:

• Subtle learning difficulties

• Attention deficits

• Cognitive slowing

• Changes in brain function (e.g. due to injury or illness)

It’s also widely used in medical and educational settings for:

• Head injuries (e.g. concussion, TBI)

• Stroke or brain tumour recovery

• Monitoring dementia (including Alzheimer’s)

• Children with reading or learning difficulties

• Conditions like Huntington’s disease, cerebral infections, and neurotoxicity

• Evaluating response to treatment or rehabilitation

📊 What Kind of Results Do You Get?

The SDMT provides:

• A score based on how many correct symbol-number matches are completed in time

• Information about processing speed and mental efficiency

• A comparison with same-age expectations (norms)

This helps professionals judge if further assessment or support is needed.

👩‍🏫 Who Uses the SDMT?

• Educational Psychologists

• Clinical Psychologists

• Neuropsychologists

• SENCOs (as part of a broader assessment battery)

• Speech & Language Therapists (in multidisciplinary teams)

The TOMAL is a memory assessment that helps us understand how well a child can remember and use information, especially over short periods of time. It looks at both auditory memory (what they hear) and visual memory (what they see or do).

Here’s a breakdown of what the different parts test:

🔊 Auditory Memory (what your child hears)

• Digits Forwards: Your child listens to numbers and repeats them in the same order. This checks short-term memory for numbers.

• Letters Forwards: Like Digits Forwards, but with letters instead of numbers.

These tasks are about remembering what was just heard and repeating it correctly, which is useful for following instructions and learning sounds.

👋 Visual Memory (what your child sees and does)

• Manual Imitation: Your child watches someone perform hand movements and then copies them in the same order. This checks short-term memory for actions and visual patterns.

🔁 Working Memory (holding and changing information in your mind)

• Digits Backwards: Your child hears numbers but must say them back in reverse order. This is harder because they have to hold the numbers in mind and rearrange them.

• Letters Backwards: Same as Digits Backwards, but with letters.

These tests show how well your child can hold on to information and work with it at the same time – a skill that’s important for reading, spelling, maths, and problem-solving.

📊 Attention/Concentration Index

This is a combined score made from the above tasks. It gives an idea of how well your child can focus, remember, and mentally juggle information – all key skills for learning.

The TOWRE-2 is a quick and reliable reading test used to check how well and how fast a child or young person can read both real words and made-up words. It’s used by schools, psychologists, and specialist teachers to spot reading difficulties early, track progress, and help with diagnosis like dyslexia.

🧩 What Does the TOWRE-2 Measure?

This test checks two key reading skills:

Sight Word Reading (Sight Word Efficiency – SWE)

How many real printed words your child can read correctly in 45 seconds.

These are usually everyday words your child has seen many times before.

Phonics/Decoding (Phonemic Decoding Efficiency – PDE)

How many made-up words (nonwords) your child can sound out correctly in 45 seconds.

These words aren’t real, so this part checks how well your child uses phonics (sounding out skills).

💡 Why Is This Test Important?

• Early detection: It helps spot children who may struggle with reading at an early stage.

• Diagnosis: It can be used as part of a full assessment for reading difficulties like dyslexia.

• Progress tracking: It’s useful for checking if extra support or teaching is helping.

• Research: Often used in studies about how children learn to read.

⏱️ How Long Does It Take?

The whole test takes about 5 minutes. It’s very fast and easy to give. Your child just reads as many words as they can from a list, as quickly and accurately as possible.

Each part of the test has four different versions, so it can be used multiple times a year to monitor progress (usually 3–4 times).

📊How Are Results Shown?

Results compare your child’s scores to other children the same age using:

• Standard scores (most children score around 100)

• Percentile ranks (shows what percentage of children your child did better than)

• This helps show if your child is behind, on track, or ahead in their word reading skills.

Who Uses the TOWRE-2?

• Specialist teachers

• Educational psychologists

• Speech and language therapists

• Schools and colleges

• Researchers

It is also commonly used to provide evidence for:

• EHCP assessments

• Dyslexia diagnosis

• Support with reading interventions

• Access arrangements for exams

The WIAT-IIIUK is a well-known and trusted test that helps professionals understand how a child or young person is doing with reading, writing, maths, listening, and speaking. It’s often used to help identify learning difficulties and support school-based decisions like EHCPs (Education, Health and Care Plans) or exam access arrangements.

What Does It Measure?

The WIAT-IIIUK checks academic skills – that means what your child can do in school subjects like:

• Reading

• Writing

• Speaking and listening

• Maths

It looks at both strengths and areas where your child may need extra help.

Why Is This Test Used?

• To find out how your child is doing compared to other children the same age.

• To help work out if your child has a specific learning difficulty (like dyslexia or dyscalculia).

• To plan the right type of support at school or in other settings.

• To track progress over time, especially after interventions like tutoring or special teaching.

It can also be used as part of evidence for:

• EHCP applications

• DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance)

• Exam access arrangements

What Does the Assessment Involve?

The WIAT-IIIUK has 16 mini-tests (called subtests). These check skills in:

🗣️ Oral Language

• Listening and speaking skills.

📖 Reading

• Basic reading skills (like sounding out and recognising words).

• Reading comprehension (understanding what’s been read).

• Reading fluency (how smoothly and quickly your child reads aloud).

✍️ Writing

• Spelling.

• Grammar and sentence structure.

• Longer written responses (ideas and organisation in writing).

➗ Mathematics

• Early maths concepts.

• Calculations (like addition or subtraction).

• Problem-solving.

• Maths fluency (speed and accuracy with simple maths).

How Are Results Reported?

Your child’s scores will be compared to a large UK sample of children the same age. The results are shown in different ways:

• Standard scores – most children score around 100

• Percentile ranks – tells you how your child compares to others (e.g. 25th percentile = lower than 75% of children)

• Other score types (like stanines and age equivalents) may also be used

These help professionals explain whether your child is working at, above, or below expected levels.

The WJ-IV is used to check a person's reading, writing, and maths skills. It is suitable for children as young as 4, teenagers, and even adults up to age 90+. It helps to spot learning difficulties, show progress, and plan support.

🧠 What Does the WJ-IV Measure?

The test looks at a range of academic skills in:

• Reading

• Writing

• Maths

It shows a clear picture of which areas a person is doing well in and where they may need help. It’s also used as evidence when applying for extra help in exams (like extra time or a reader/scribe).

📝 What Are the 11 Subtests?

The WJ-IV includes 11 short tests. Each takes around 5–10 minutes, and they can be used together or on their own depending on your child’s needs.

Reading: Letter-Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, Word Attack, Oral Reading, Sentence Reading Fluency

Writing: Spelling, Writing Samples, Writing Fluency

Maths: Applied Problems, Calculation, Maths Facts Fluency

👩‍🏫 Who Uses the WJ-IV and Why?

Educational Psychologists, Specialist Teachers, and other trained professionals use the WJ-IV to:

Identify specific learning difficulties (like dyslexia or dyscalculia).

Create targeted learning plans.

Provide proof for exam access arrangements (e.g. 25% extra time).

Help with decisions about school placements, intervention needs, or support plans.

Track progress over time.

📍 Where and How Is It Done?

Usually done one-to-one, in a quiet room at school, in a clinic, or sometimes at home.

The professional will explain each task clearly and encourage your child to try their best.

Answers are marked either by hand or using online scoring for fast and accurate results.

🧩 What Does the WJ-IV Help Identify?

This assessment can:

Show which academic skills are strong and which are weaker.

Help explain why your child might be struggling at school.

Highlight whether their difficulties are in spelling, comprehension, mental maths, or fluency.

Be used as part of an EHCP application, dyslexia diagnosis, or school-based intervention plan.

🧠 What Is the WRAT?

The WRAT is a quick and reliable academic achievement screening tool used with people from age 5 to 85+ years. It helps assess how well someone can read, spell, and do maths — and whether they might need more detailed support or assessment.

It is often used to:

• Screen for learning difficulties

• Estimate a person’s premorbid ability (how they might have functioned before illness/injury)

• Support decisions about access arrangements for exams

• Track academic progress over time

✍️ What Does the WRAT Assess?

The WRAT focuses on four core areas of academic learning. These skills are essential for success in school and everyday life.

1. 📖 Word Reading

• The child reads a list of letters or words out loud.

• Measures how well they recognise letters and words (decoding).

• No time limit

2. 📘 Sentence Comprehension

• The child fills in the blanks in sentences (a bit like a cloze task).

• Measures how well they understand meaning and language in context.

• No time limit

3. ✏️ Spelling

• The child writes down dictated letters and words.

• Measures their spelling and sound-symbol knowledge.

• No time limit

4. ➕ Mathematical Computation

• Assesses how well they:

  • Count

  • Identify numbers

  • Solve simple and more complex maths problems

• Problems range from basic arithmetic to algebra and geometry

• Timed subtest

📊 A Reading Composite Score is created by combining the Word Reading and Sentence Comprehension scores, offering a fuller picture of a child’s reading ability.

It’s especially useful for identifying underlying difficulties in spelling, basic maths, or reading comprehension, even if your child seems to be managing on the surface.

👩‍🏫 Who Uses the WRAT?

• Educational Psychologists

• SENCOs

• Specialist Teachers

• Speech and Language Therapists

• Clinicians (e.g. neuropsychologists, GPs, psychiatrists for cognitive profiling)

The WRIT is a test used to understand how a child learns and thinks. It helps to look at both their verbal (language-based) and non-verbal (visual and spatial) thinking skills. The test can be used with children as young as 4 years old.

The WRIT is made up of four short activities, grouped into two main areas:

💬 Verbal Ability – Thinking with Words

This looks at how your child understands and uses spoken language. It includes:

Verbal Analogies
Your child is asked to finish short "word puzzles" by finding links between ideas. For example: “Car is to road as boat is to...?”
This shows how well they understand relationships between words and ideas.

Vocabulary
Your child is asked to say what certain words mean. This shows how many words they know and how well they can explain them.

These two parts together give a Verbal Ability Score.

👀 Visual Ability – Thinking with Pictures

This looks at how your child understands patterns and shapes, without using words. It includes:

Matrices
Your child sees a set of pictures and chooses the one that completes the pattern. It checks how they spot patterns and use logic.

Diamonds
Your child uses small coloured shapes to build designs or puzzles. It checks their visual and spatial thinking – how they understand shape and space.

These two parts together give a Visual Ability Score.

🧩 Why is this useful?

The WRIT gives a snapshot of your child’s thinking skills. It helps to spot:

• Strengths (where your child finds things easier)

• Challenges (where they might need more support)

It can also highlight big differences between skills, which is common in children with learning difficulties like dyslexia.

⚠️ Important: The overall score (called an IQ score) is not always the most helpful part. Children with learning differences often have a mix of strong and weak areas, so it’s more useful to look closely at each section.

💡 In summary:

• The WRIT is quick and child-friendly.

• It looks at how your child thinks with words and pictures.

• It helps identify areas for support or further investigation.

• It’s not about right or wrong — it’s about understanding your child better.

📖 What Is the YARC?

The YARC (York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension) is a detailed, one-to-one reading assessment used with children and young people aged 4 to 16 years. It helps identify:

• Specific reading strengths and difficulties

• Areas like decoding, fluency, and comprehension

• What kind of support or intervention would be most helpful

It’s especially useful when:

• A child or young person is struggling with reading

• Adults want to know why reading is difficult

• There’s a need for targeted literacy support

• Evidence is required for exam access arrangements or learning support

🧪 What Does the YARC Assess?

The YARC is split into three separate tools depending on the age and reading stage of the student:

🌱 1. Early Years Reading (Ages 4–7)

For early or beginning readers, it assesses phonological awareness and basic literacy development through:

• Letter sound knowledge
  (Can they link letters with the sounds they make?)

• Early word recognition
  (Can they recognise and read simple words?)

• Sound deletion
  (Can they say what’s left when a sound is taken away from a word?)

• Sound isolation
  (Can they pick out the beginning, middle, or end sounds in words?)

🕒 Takes around 20–30 minutes
👧 Particularly helpful for identifying early signs of dyslexia or reading delays

📚 2. Primary Passage Reading (Ages 5–11)

For developing readers, this section looks at both word-level reading and understanding of text:

• Single word reading

• Reading accuracy

• Reading rate (speed)

• Reading comprehension
  (Can they understand and answer questions about what they’ve read?)

The child reads short fiction and non-fiction stories aloud. The adult listens and asks questions to check understanding.

🕒 Takes around 20–30 minutes
📈 Can be used to track progress across the school year
📌 Useful for accessing support or applying for extra help in school or exams

🧑‍🎓 3. Secondary Passage Reading (Ages 12–16)

For older readers, this version uses more advanced fiction and non-fiction passages. It is designed to assess more mature reading skills, including:

• Reading accuracy

• Reading fluency
  (Smoothness, pacing, and flow)

• Reading comprehension
  (Can they understand, interpret, and reflect on what they’ve read?)

🧩 Two additional, easier passages are available for students with reading difficulties who may not be able to access the standard texts.

🕒 Takes around 20–30 minutes
🧾 Can support applications for exam access arrangements (e.g. extra time, a reader)

🧰 What Information Do Parents Receive?

You will receive a clear, detailed report, which includes:

• A summary of your child’s reading skills

• Where they are doing well

• Where they may need support

• Suggestions for specific strategies, interventions, or adjustments

• Standardised scores (comparing to others the same age), percentile ranks, and age equivalents

A helpful online tool generates a one-page report with all the data, plus space for teacher comments and observations.

🎯 Why Is the YARC Useful?

• Gives a balanced picture of both word reading and comprehension

• Pinpoints whether a child struggles with decoding, fluency, or understanding

• Tracks progress over time and checks whether support is working

• Supports exam access arrangements for secondary students

• Can be used with children who have English as an Additional Language (EAL)

👩‍🏫 Who Uses the YARC?

• SENCOs

• Specialist Teachers

• Educational Psychologists

• Literacy Coordinators

• Speech and Language Therapists

🧠 Summary: Is the YARC Right for My Child?

✅ If your child is struggling with reading
✅ If you’re unsure where the difficulty lies
✅ If you want to know what kind of support will help
✅ If you're looking to gather evidence for additional support or access arrangements

The YARC is a trusted, research-based tool developed by reading experts at the University of York, used widely across schools and support settings.