A Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental difference that affects how a child learns and uses academic skills such as reading, spelling, writing, or mathematics. Dyslexia is the most common form, and it mainly affects reading and spelling. SLD is not caused by lack of effort, teaching, or intelligence. Children with SLD often have unique strengths and learn best when provided with targeted support and strategies.

Parents and teachers may notice signs such as:

• Difficulty learning to read or spell despite good teaching
• Trouble remembering sight words or phonics rules
• Slow, effortful reading or avoiding reading tasks
• Ongoing spelling or writing difficulties
• A family history of dyslexia or learning differences

An assessment helps to:

• Identify your child’s learning profile
• Confirm whether SLD is present
• Provide tailored strategies and recommendations for school and home
• Support access to adjustments, tutoring, or funding if available

An assessment is often most helpful once a child has received at least 6 months of targeted, evidence-based literacy intervention and progress is still slower than expected. This is because formal diagnostic guidelines require learning difficulties to persist despite appropriate support, and assessment at this point can more clearly guide effective next steps.

If suitable intervention has not yet occurred, an assessment can still provide a snapshot of current literacy skills and help inform teaching and intervention; however, a formal diagnosis cannot usually be confirmed at this stage. These results can also act as a useful baseline to measure progress over time.

Evidence-based literacy intervention is structured, explicit, and systematic, and focuses directly on the skills your child is finding difficult (such as phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, and reading fluency). It should be delivered regularly and frequently, with progress monitored over time so changes can be made if your child is not responding as expected.

Programs described as “general support,” “extra practice,” or “exposure to reading” alone are not usually sufficient for children with persistent literacy difficulties. If you’re unsure whether your child’s current intervention meets best-practice standards, you’re very welcome to discuss this with us and we can help you determine whether the support being provided is appropriate and effective.

A formal diagnosis of SLD is typically made once a child has had adequate exposure to formal reading instruction, which is usually from around 6-7 years of age, alongside appropriate intervention. However, assessment can occur earlier to understand a child’s current literacy skills, identify risk, guide intervention, and establish a baseline for monitoring progress.

While children develop literacy skills at different rates, a “wait and see” approach can allow learning gaps to widen over time, making intervention more challenging later on. Persistent difficulties with early literacy skills are unlikely to resolve without targeted support, and waiting until the gap is larger can impact confidence, motivation, and engagement with learning.

A cognitive (IQ) assessment looks at how a child thinks, reasons, remembers, and processes information.

It helps to:

• Understand your child’s learning strengths (e.g., problem-solving, visual reasoning)
• Identify areas that may be impacting reading/writing (e.g., working memory, processing speed)
• Provide a comparison between ability (what your child is capable of) and achievement (what your child has learned)

This comparison is important in diagnosing a Specific Learning Disorder.

Oral language skills are closely linked to literacy. Children with SLD (dyslexia) may also have language differences that affect reading, spelling, or comprehension.

An oral language assessment can:

• Identify difficulties with vocabulary, grammar, and understanding spoken language
• Clarify whether literacy challenges are part of a broader language disorder
• Guide tailored recommendations for both classroom support and speech-language therapy

• Assessments usually happen over 2-3 sessions (depending on the child’s age and attention) with each session being around 60-90 minutes.
• A feedback session with parents is usually scheduled once testing and the written report are completed.

• The cost for SLD assessment is $1450. This comprises $550 for the cognitive assessment and $900 for the written language assessment.

  This includes:

  • Review of parent questionnaires, school reports, treatment summaries and other allied health or relevant medical reports
  • Consultation with teacher, tutors, or other therapists (e.g., speech pathologist, occupational therapist) who may be helping support your child (as appropriate)
  • Two testing sessions- one for the cognitive assessment (with the clinical psychologist) and one for the written language assessments (with the speech pathologist)
  • Scoring and interpretation of results
  • Writing a comprehensive report including recommendations
  • Parent feedback session- usually via telehealth

  If an oral language assessment is recommended there will be an additional $600 charge.

  Private health rebates may be available.

• You will receive:

  •       A detailed written report including recommendations on next steps (e.g., tutoring, classroom adjustments, referral to a speech pathologist if needed)
  • A consultation to go through the results and recommendations

  The report can be shared with your child’s school to support individualised teaching approaches.