Intervention for Dyslexia - The British Dyslexia Association

Lucid Rapid Dyslexia Screening, which takes about 15 minutes, is a shorter test than
either the Dyslexia Screener or the conventional tests described in Section 4.3.3. It is
designed for children aged 4–15 years, and can be run on a school network. The
program comprises the following three subtests, the composition of each differing
according to age:
Verbal memory
Phonological awareness
Phonological decoding.
This screening test is based on the phonological deficit theory of dyslexia (Snowling,
2000; Vellutino et al., 2004; Vellutino & Fletcher, 2005). The subtests were validated in
a 5-year prospective longitudinal study by Singleton, Thomas and Horne (2000), and in
further research by Horne (2002).
4.3.5 Dyslexia Profiling Tests
When educational psychologists assess children for dyslexia they normally use an
intelligence test (such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – WISC), a battery
of cognitive tests of memory, phonology, etc., and various attainments tests
(phonological decoding, reading accuracy, reading speed and comprehension, spelling,
etc.). The results of these tests can all be put together to create what can be regarded
as a profile of the child’s abilities, and this profile is inspected for the characteristic signs
of dyslexia in order to make a diagnosis (see Turner, 1997). Computerised dyslexia
profiling systems attempt to replicate this process in a way that is easy and accessible to
the teacher (Singleton, 2002, 2004). Unlike screening tests, which generate a single
conclusion (essentially ‘dyslexic’ or ‘not dyslexic’), dyslexia profiling systems rely on the
teacher to inspect the profile of results obtained from a number of subtests and come
up with an interpretation. They are thus more challenging for teachers to use than
screening tests, and demand a reasonable understanding of the nature of dyslexia.
Despite this, dyslexia profiling systems are often used for dyslexia screening, because
they also offer a more comprehensive assessment than screening tests (each subtest is
independently standardised), can uncover strengths as well as weaknesses, and are
viewed as being more helpful for determining teaching and learning strategies.
The two computerised dyslexia profiling systems are Lucid CoPS Cognitive Profiling
System (Singleton, Thomas and Leedale, 1996), designed for ages 4–8 years, and Lucid
Assessment System for Schools (LASS). The latter is published in two versions: LASS
Junior, designed for children aged 8–11 years (Thomas, Singleton & Horne, 2001) and
LASS Secondary, designed for children aged 11–15 years (Horne, Singleton & Thomas,
1999). Both these tests can be run on a school network and take about 45 minutes for
the average child to complete (although it is recommended that younger children
attempt the tests in more than one sitting in order to avoid fatigue). Each test comprises
eight subtests, which assess the abilities shown in Table 11.
The theoretical basis of both CoPS and LASS is essentially that of the phonological deficit
model. Both tests are accompanied by a Teacher’s Manual that shows example profiles,
discusses case studies and suggests intervention strategies. CoPS was validated in a 5year
prospective longitudinal study of 421 children carried out by Singleton, Thomas and
Horne (2000), the subtests in the suite being those out of 27 different cognitive tests
that proved to be the most useful in prediction of dyslexia (see also Fawcett, Singleton &
90 Intervention for Dyslexia