Could your child have hidden dyslexia? Take this 5 minute test to identify learning difficulty that affects MILLIONS

An affordable screening assessment for dyslexia has been launched for parents amid growing criticism that standard testing is too expensive and takes too long for families.

The ground-breaking tool, which could help transform the lives of children struggling at school without a diagnosis, involves a 45-minute digital test which is significantly cheaper and quicker than the current formal assessments, which cost up to £800 and can take weeks to complete.

The £60 test, called Talamo, sets children a series of puzzles and questions to test their memory, reading, spelling, and problem solving, and produces a detailed report almost instantly based on the results.

This can not only advise parents whether their child is likely to have dyslexia and where their weaknesses lie, but also contains recommendations for how teachers could best support their learning.

The move comes after TV chef Jamie Oliver – who was himself diagnosed with dyslexia aged seven – fronted a moving documentary in June about the challenges faced by thousands of schoolchildren with the condition, in which he called for earlier screening and better dyslexia support in schools.

The tool is already being used to screen whole classes of children in 560 schools across the country in a bid to pick up the condition early and provide more tailored support to struggling kids.

The British Dyslexia Association is partnering with the company behind the tool. 

Dyslexia, which affects around 6.3million people in the UK, causes problems with spelling and reading because it affects the way the brain processes information and particularly the sounds within words. 

Around 10 to 15 per cent of schoolchildren are thought to have the condition, making it the most common learning difficulty.

But studies suggest four out of every five cases go undiagnosed at school, which has longer term effects.

It can lead to lower qualifications, lower-paid jobs and higher rates of mental health issues later in life.

Yet tests are rarely available on the NHS, and formal assessments require around three hours of testing using different types of test conducted by an educational psychologist or qualified specialist teacher with two years’ training. They then have to write a report based on the results.

The new tool, which makes this process significantly quicker, was developed by 30-year-old Jamie Wace, a tech entrepreneur who was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 14.

Mr Wace said he was inspired to create it because too few children were able to get a diagnosis.

‘Things started to change for me when I got my diagnosis – it was actually a relief because I’d previously thought I was just a bit stupid,’ Mr Wace said. ‘Finding out what I was good at, and what my brain struggled with, was huge for me as it meant I got support to change the way I learned.

‘But at the moment, unless you come from a family who can afford these tests, you won’t get that support. I wanted to change that.’ 

Talamo offers parents a free initial questionnaire about their child’s learning which advises them whether or not they are exhibiting signs of dyslexia and may benefit from its test.

The test, which was developed in conjunction with 50 specialists and can be used for children aged 7 to 16, is based on questions from formal cognitive assessments known as Woodcock-Johnson-IV tests.

It involves a series of questions to test ten areas of children’s brains, including their spatial reasoning, spelling, reading, memory skills, processing speed and non-verbal reasoning.

The results, which are almost instantaneous, are presented in a report which indicate how likely it is a child has dyslexia, and where their weaknesses lie.

It also contains tips to help parents support their child at home, and a section for teachers and Special Educational Needs (SEN) coordinators which can advise them of the child’s support needs at school.

Mr Wace stresses that the tool, which is 95 per cent accurate, cannot officially diagnose the condition – which must still be done via a trained specialist.

But he says it may be enough to encourage schools to put support in place. 

‘Because there are so many kids who’ll never get a formal assessment, the idea is that if you can make screening as good as possible, and you get some intervention as a result, that’s what is going to make the difference for that child,’ he says.

‘It’s potentially a pretty life-changing thing and will give parents and teachers a lot more reassurance.’

Michelle Catterson, headteacher at Moon Hall School, a specialist school for children with dyslexia, is using the tool in its not-for-profit assessment centre.

‘It closes the disadvantage gap,’ she said. ‘Many parents don’t want to pay out £600 for an assessment only to find out their child isn’t dyslexic,’ she says. ‘This gives them that confidence to go in the right direction and, if it’s not dyslexia, will suggest where their child might be struggling. It all helps get them the right support.’

In his Channel 4 documentary, Jamie’s Dyslexia Revolution, Jamie Oliver spoke movingly about his own experience of feeling ‘stupid, worthless, and thick’ because of his undiagnosed dyslexia.

The 50-year-old revealed he did not read a book until he was 33.

‘I knew I wanted to be a chef, so I had somewhere to go – catering school, where I could thrive. But not everyone is as lucky as me.’

 The celebrity chef has called on the Government to test all children so those found to have the condition can be offered extra support.

Talamo’s celebrity ambassadors including I’m A Celebrity winner Sam Thompson and former The Saturdays singer Frankie Bridge, who has a dyslexic child.

Meanwhile, investors include entrepreneur Simon Squibb, who has dyslexia himself, and Octopus founder Simon Rogerson.

Mr Wace plans to expand access via Talamo’s Dyslexia Heroes campaign, which aims to get famous faces back to their old schools to gift them the technology.

This will be accompanied by training from the British Dyslexia Association.