Dr. Davenport has over 25 years of experience ruling out and identifying dyslexia in children, teens, and college students. He uses the expertise he has gained over these years to provide research-based assessments, diagnoses, and recommendations for families and educators.
His evaluation for dyslexia includes a thorough assessment of the symptoms of dyslexia as described by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), The Yale Center for Dyslexia, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC), and Texas Education Agency’s most recent Dyslexia Handbook.
Dr. Davenport’s evaluation process includes educating you and your student about dyslexia symptoms and research-based treatment. Assessment results and recommendations for remediation and accommodations are summarized in a thorough written report you can share with your student’s educators.
Contact us to schedule a thorough individualized assessment for dyslexia today.
The Clinical Interview
During your first appointment, Dr. Davenport’s primary goal is to help you and your child or student feel comfortable. He strives to help you leave this appointment feeling more hopeful and less stressed than when you arrived.
Dr. Davenport’s assessment begins with a structured and thorough clinical interview designed to identify your student’s day-to-day learning difficulties and to either rule-out or identify specific attention, social, or emotional challenges.
Schools, doctors, and dyslexia therapists expect the clinical interview to be completed as part of a thorough assessment.
Dr. Davenport’s Assessment Aligns with the Research-Based Definition of Dyslexia
The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as follows.
“Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
This definition is included in the Texas Education Agency Dyslexia Handbook and has been adopted by many other state education codes.
When assessing dyslexia, Dr. Davenport ensures that each aspect of the dyslexia definition is assessed using current tests and methods.
Accurate and/or Fluent Word Recognition
The Woodcock-Johnson, Fourth Edition (WJ-IV) Letter-Word Identification subtest measures a student’s ability to accurately read real words in isolation when compared to others his or her age. In addition to obtaining standard scores and percentiles on this test, Dr. Davenport has the knowledge and expertise to document the types of patters your student makes when reading (i.e., vowels, vowel digraphs, consonant digraphs, etc.) These observations can be helpful for professionals such as Academic Language Therapists and others.
The Gray Oral Reading Test, Fifth Edition (GORT-5) Accuracy subtest measures your student’s ability to accurately read real words in the context of oral reading passages at an age-appropriate level. In addition to a standard score, Dr. Davenport describes the type of contextual reading errors your student makes (i.e., mispronunciations, substitutions, omissions, additions, etc): Identifying the types of errors made is especially important when considering the differences in dyslexia and ADHD.
The GORT-5 Rate and Fluency subtests compare your student’s ability to read real words fluently in the context of written passages to same-age peers. In addition to a standard score, Dr. Davenport describes your child’s fluency using three main categories: (1) slow, word by word reading, (2) hesitant and choppy reading, or (3) good fluency that sounds as if the student is reading.
Poor Spelling
The WJ-IV Spelling subtest compares a student’s ability to spell real words accurately to others his or her age.
The WJ-IV Spelling of Sounds subtest is used when needed to assesses an older student’s ability to accurately spell words not seen or heard before by using phonological, phonics, and spelling rules.
In addition to a standard score, Dr. Davenport describes your student’s spelling pattern errors (i.e., vowels, vowel digraphs, consonant digraphs, etc.)
Poor Decoding Abilities
The WJ-IV Word Attack subtest measures a student’s ability to sound-out words never seen before (non-words) as compared to others his or her age. In addition to obtaining scores, Dr. Davenport describes your student’s decoding pattern errors for the use of educators and other professionals.
A Deficit in the Phonological Component of Language
The Comprehensive Tests of Phonological Processing, Second Edition (CTOPP-2) is the “gold-standard” for measuring multiple aspects of phonological and phonemic components of language. While at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Monte received training in interpreting these tests from the primary author of the CTOPP. Dr. Davenport administers specific subtests from this battery based on a student’s unique challenges and needs.
In addition to obtaining scores that compare your student’s abilities to others his or her age, Dr. Davenport describes his observations of performance on these tasks. For example, on the rapid naming subtests, he describes his observations of the child’s skills as they relate to reading fluency: (1) slow, item by item, (2) hesitant and choppy, or (3) accurate and fluent suggesting good underlying abilities needed for reading fluency.
Unexpected in Relation to Other Cognitive Abilities
The Comprehension-Knowledge and Fluid Reasoning subtests the Woodcock-Johnson, Fourth Edition (WJ-IV) Tests of Cognitive Abilities are used to compare your student’s thinking and problem-solving abilities to his or her phonological, reading, and spelling skills.
Subtests of the Working Memory and Processing Speed clusters are also typically administered because weaknesses in these areas can be related to dyslexia.
Dr. Davenport documents his observations and descriptions of any developmentally inappropriate variations in the student’s skills. He uses a developmental approach to compare your student’s intellectual abilities to her phonological, reading, and spelling skills.
Unexpected in Relation to Provision of Effective Classroom Instruction
Through standardized questionnaires, Dr. Davenport gathers information from teachers to consider the educational care previously provided to your student.
Problems in Reading Comprehension
The GORT -5 Reading Comprehension subtest measures a student’s ability to comprehend what he or she read aloud in passages.
The WJ -IV Passage Comprehension subtest measures a student’s ability to comprehend information in silently read passages in real-time.
In addition to obtaining standard scores comparing your student’s abilities to same-age peers on these tests, Dr. Davenport documents the types of comprehension errors made (i.e., cause/effect, compare/contrast, inference, etc.). These descriptors can be especially helpful for educators and others treating your child’s needs.
Impedes Growth in Vocabulary and Background Knowledge
WJ-IV Knowledge and Comprehension subtests measure your student’s vocabulary and background knowledge as compared to same-age peers. Dr. Davenport’s observations of these tests detail any impact of dyslexia on these important abilities.
Summary of Results
During this session, test results and recommendations are discussed with you.
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Your student’s specific strengths and needs are summarized from the tests administered. Parent and educator observations are integrated into this discussion.
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Specific diagnoses are explained in understandable terms
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Recommendations for treating and accommodating specific needs in the classroom, socially, and at home are discussed.
Your child, teen, or college student is also provided age-appropriate information about his or her strengths, needs, and related recommendations.
The Written Report
Within 3 weeks after your third appointment, a comprehensive written report you can share with your student’s educators and other helping professionals is prepared and e-mailed to you.
Interested in an Assessment?
Contact us to make an appointment.
© 2010-2019, Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.
