Dyslexia Assessment in Sydney

If your child is bright, tries hard, and still cannot read or spell like the other children in their class, you deserve a straight answer about why.
 

A dyslexia assessment tells you whether your child has dyslexia, and exactly what will help. We charge a flat $1,500 for the whole thing. That covers everything, from the first meeting where we listen to your story, right through to the meeting where we sit down and explain the results to you. There is nothing extra to pay.

We are in Wetherill Park in Western Sydney. Families drive to us from all over Sydney and beyond, because this is a one-off appointment and a good assessment is worth the trip.

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Does this sound like your child?

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• Reads slowly, or guesses at words from the first letter

• Reads a word on one page and cannot read the same word on the next page

• Spelling is a battle, even for words they have practised over and over

• Avoids reading, hides books, or says they are dumb

• Gets upset, gets stomach aches, or does not want to go to school on days there is reading

• Is doing fine in maths, art, sport, or talking, but reading is the hard part

• Has already had extra reading help and is still not catching up

• Has a parent, brother, sister, aunt or uncle who also found reading hard

 

If you are nodding at a few of these, an assessment is worth doing.

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Dyslexia is common. Around one child in ten has it. It has nothing to do with how clever your child is, and it does not go away by itself. But the right kind of teaching makes a very big difference, and the sooner it starts, the better it works.

 

What it costs: $1,500, everything included

 

Most families who ring around are quoted somewhere between $1,500 and $2,500. Many then find out that the meeting to explain the results costs extra, on top. Ours does not.

Your $1,500 covers:

• Reading your child's school reports, any earlier assessments, and questionnaires filled in by you and by their teacher

• The assessment session with your child. Usually about 2 hours

• A full written report, with a clear answer and a plan

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What actually happens

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Step 1 - You get in touch

Ring us or send the form. We will ask you some questions about your child. This is to make sure an assessment is the right step right now. If we think something else would help your child more, we will tell you, and we will point you in the right direction. We would rather do that than take your money.

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Step 2. We send you a pack

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Before the day, we send you a short questionnaire, one for your child's teacher, one for you and one for your child about how they feel about reading. Worry about reading is a real part of this, and often it is the part that hurts the most, so we ask about it properly.

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Step 3. The assessment session

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Your child works one-to-one with Emily for about 2 hours, with breaks. To your child it feels like word games, puzzles and reading tasks. Most children enjoy it. Bring a snack and a drink. You wait in the clinic, you do not need to go anywhere.

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Step 4. The report

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You get a full written report. It includes a summary written in plain language for you, without the jargon, so you can read it yourself and so you can hand it to the school. 

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Step 5. We explain it to you

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In person or online. This is the part that matters most. A report that sits in a drawer changes nothing. We go through what we found, what it means, and what to do next, in order of what to do first.

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Who this assessment is for

• Children aged 7 to 16

• Who have been at an English-speaking school for at least three years

• Who have already had proper structured phonics teaching, at school or with a tutor, and it has not fixed the problem

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When we will say no, and why that is a good thing

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We will not take $1,500 from you for a report that will not change anything for your child. We will say no, or ask you to come back later, if:

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• Your child is under 7.

• Your child has not yet had proper structured phonics teaching. If nobody has taught your child the code properly, we cannot tell whether they cannot learn it or were simply never taught it. In that case, good teaching comes first and the assessment comes after. In this case can book you in for a block of speech pathology sessions to work on your child's literacy skills.

• Your child has attention difficulties that are not yet managed. If we cannot rule out attention as the main cause, the report cannot answer its own question. Usually we look for about six months of settled attention first.

• Your child has been at an English-speaking school for less than three years. Below that, the test measures how much English your child has been exposed to, not dyslexia.

• What you actually need is a different assessment: talking and understanding, autism, ADHD, or an IQ assessment. These are real and useful, they are just not this. We will tell you who to see.

• You are hoping the report will get your child NDIS funding. 

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What you get

• An answer on whether your child has dyslexia, using the same criteria doctors and psychologists use (DSM-5)

• A detailed picture of your child's reading, spelling, and the thinking skills that sit underneath them, so you understand what is actually going wrong

• Specific recommendations, put in order of what matters most, that a teacher or tutor can pick up and use

• Something to take to the school. Many schools accept an assessment completed by a qualified speech pathologist and use it to make classroom adjustments: extra time in class, a shorter spelling list, using a laptop or reading software, changed homework. Each school makes its own decision, so we cannot promise this in advance.

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What it does not do​

• It does not get NDIS access.

• It is not an assessment of autism, ADHD, or IQ.

• It is not therapy. This assessment tells you what your child needs. It does not do the teaching.

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Things that cost extra

These are not part of the $1,500. If you want any of them, we will quote you a price first, and you decide.

• Meetings with the school, including learning support or IEP meetings, in person or online

• Talking with the teacher about results and recommendations 

• Travelling to your child's school or anywhere else

• Re-assessment later on, including where a school asks for updated scores

• Filling in application forms for school adjustments or exam provisions. 

• An interpreter, if you need one

• Any therapy or tutoring. This service tells you what your child needs. It does not do the teaching.

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Why a speech pathologist, and not a psychologist?

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Both can assess for dyslexia. They do it differently, and the difference matters.

Dyslexia is, at its core, a difficulty with the sounds in words and the way those sounds map onto letters. That is the centre of what speech pathologists are trained in. It is our profession's core business.

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A psychologist will usually include an IQ test. That is the main reason their assessment generally costs several hundred to a thousand dollars more. An IQ test is not needed to diagnose dyslexia. The old rule that a child's reading had to be far worse than their IQ was removed from the diagnostic manual more than a decade ago.

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There are still good reasons to choose a psychologist. If you also want IQ or ADHD testing, or if your child is in high school and you want to apply for formal exam provisions, a psychologist is the right call. If that is your situation, we will say so and help you find someone. We are not here to sell you an assessment you do not need.​

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The test we use

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We use the Tests of Dyslexia (TOD). It is a newer assessment built specifically for diagnosing dyslexia, rather than a general reading test. Alongside it we take a short piece of your child's own writing under timed conditions, and we use the questionnaires about how your child feels about reading.

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Families travel to us

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We are at Suite 6A, 1345 The Horsley Drive, Wetherill Park, with parking outside.

Most of our weekly therapy families are local: Fairfield, Prairiewood, Bossley Park, Smithfield, Edensor Park, Cabramatta, Canley Vale and Liverpool.

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Assessment families come from much further away, because this is a one-off appointment rather than weekly therapy. We see children from Parramatta, Blacktown, Bankstown, Penrith, the Hills, Campbelltown, Camden, the Blue Mountains, the Illawarra and the Central Coast.

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Who does the assessment

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Hi, I’m Emily, Co-Director at Milestones. I’m a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist and a member of Speech Pathology Australia, with 6 years of experience helping children and families. I’m trained in structured literacy, a clear, step-by-step way of teaching reading that is backed by research, and in the Sounds-Write program. I do every part of your child’s assessment myself, from our first chat to the feedback session, so you’ll talk to the same person the whole way through.

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Common questions

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How much does a dyslexia assessment cost in Sydney?

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At Milestones, it is a flat $1,500. That includes the assessment session, the written report, and the meeting where we explain the results to you. There is nothing extra to pay. An assessment with an educational or clinical psychologist commonly costs $2,000 to $2,500, mostly because it includes an IQ test.

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Can a speech pathologist diagnose dyslexia in Australia?

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Yes. Dyslexia is a difficulty with sounds, letters and words, which is exactly what speech pathologists are trained in, and we are qualified to use the assessments involved.

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How old does my child need to be?

Between 7 and 16. Younger than 7, we usually recommend focusing on good phonics teaching first and assessing later.

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How long does the assessment take?

The session with your child is usually about 2 hours, sometimes up to 2.5, with breaks. On top of that there is a chat with you afterwards (often a phone call), to discuss results.

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When do we get the report?

Generally, within 3 weeks of the assessment session.

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Will my child's school accept the report?

Many schools do accept an assessment from a qualified speech pathologist and use it to put classroom adjustments in place. Each school decides for itself, so we cannot promise it in advance. What we can do is write the report so the recommendations are clear and practical enough for a teacher to actually use.

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Can I use NDIS funding?

No. Dyslexia is not an NDIS access condition and the NDIS does not fund assessment for diagnosis. If you manage your own NDIS plan you can choose to pay privately, and we can give you a properly itemised invoice, but you should not assume it will be accepted.

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Does my child have to already be a Milestones client?

No. Most families who come for an assessment are new to us.

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What if the assessment shows my child does not have dyslexia?

You still get an answer. The report will explain what is making reading hard and what to do about it. Ruling dyslexia out is useful information, not a wasted assessment.

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Do you provide the therapy afterwards?

Yes. After the assessment, we can help your child here at Milestones. Our speech pathologists teach reading and spelling using structured literacy. This is a clear, step-by-step way of teaching that is backed by research. It is the type of teaching most likely to help children with dyslexia.

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Because we already know your child from the assessment, therapy can start where your child needs it most. You don’t need to repeat the testing.

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Sessions are usually weekly or fortnightly. If you live far away, therapy can be done by telehealth (a video call) from home. Many children do well with online reading lessons, and it saves you the drive.

You don’t have to do therapy with us. The report is yours, and you can share it with any tutor, teacher or therapist you choose.

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Book an assessment

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Ring us on (02) 8201 3599, or fill in the form below.

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Tell us your child's age, what school year they are in, and what worries you most about their reading. We will ask a few questions to check that an assessment is the right step. If it is, we will get you booked in. If it is not, we will tell you honestly what we think would help more.