Screening Tools

These are screening tools NOT to be confused with assessment tools. Assessment and diagnosis should be preformed by a licensed practitioner; generally a Child Psychologist via a Psychoeducational Assessment. The importance of early screening via these tools is to identity children at risk (early) so they can be referred onto the appropriate resources and interventions can begin in the classroom. Furthermore, children generally require a formal diagnosis, from a licensed and qualified practitioner to access legal accommodation via an individual education plan. Because dyslexia is an invisible disability, I am a proponent of universal screening between the ages of four and five, this is typically during the time of Kindergarten..

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According to The International Dyslexia Association, "it is imperative for screening to occur for all children, not just the ones “at risk” or who have already been determined to have reading failure. Students who are English Language Learners or speak in a different dialect should be included in this assessment."

 

Kindergarten screening tools should include an assessment of phoneme segmentation, blending, onset and rhyme; rapid automatic naming including letter naming fluency; letter sound association; and phonological memory, including non-word repetition. Oral reading fluency could be added in mid first grade (International Dyslexia Foundation).Alberta has mandated ​universal screening since 2022 (Alberta, 2024), Ontario followed in 2024 (Ontario, 2023). Despite the fact that universal screening was a recommendation of the Ontario Human Rights to Read Commission, (2018), and advocated for by dyslexia experts, implementation of universal screening lacks in other provinces and territories (Dyslexia Canada). Implementation of universal screening around the world is varied with the UK mandating universal screening since 2012 (OHRC, 2018). 

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