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Starnes Media
According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia affects approximately 15-20% of the population.
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Courtesy of Judith Capps
Judith Capps has a passion for helping struggling readers gain the skillset and confidence to be successful readers.
The Homewood Public Library is partnering with Birmingham Literacy and Languages Services to host a dyslexia screening event on Aug. 17. The event is free and will take place at the library from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and their relation to letters and words.
Birmingham Literacy and Languages Services is a private practice specializing in comprehensive dyslexia evaluations and structured literacy intervention. Children four and older are eligible to be examined by Judith Capps, founder of the organization and a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist.
“I will be doing a dyslexia screener which will determine if a full comprehensive dyslexia evaluation is warranted,” said Capps. “I will be using the Gallistel-Ellis Test of Coding Skills, which is a criterion-referenced assessment that is used to measure a student’s coding skills in reading and writing.”
The assessment measures the ability to verbalize sounds for various letters and units, or clusters, as well as the ability to recognize and spell words made up of those sounds.
Along with the screenings, Capps will provide a parent/teacher questionnaire that will gather further information about how the child is doing with academic coursework as well as other red flags.
She will also administer the Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills, which assesses phonological awareness. Additionally, the Gates Oral Reading test will be given to obtain a measure of fluency and accuracy in connected text reading.
The screener will last roughly 30 minutes per child. To register your child, contact Capps at bhmliteracy@gmail.com.
