Methods used by psychologists for identifying dyslexia: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Education
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Inconsistent operationalization of dyslexia in assessment practices is a significant concern.
• Variations in national education contexts and legislation contribute to discrepancies in psychologists' assessment methods.
• An international overview of current dyslexia assessment practices is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the literature on how psychologists identify and/or diagnose dyslexia across English-speaking countries.
• To provide an international comparison of psychologists' dyslexia assessment practices.
• To identify contextual factors that may foster converging assessment practices.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of quantitative and/or qualitative studies.
• Inclusion of studies published between 2013 and 2021.
• Focus on psychologists' self-reported methods for assessing, identifying, and/or diagnosing dyslexia.

Main Results:

• Eleven studies (published across fourteen papers) met the inclusion criteria.
• Most studies sampled school psychologists in the USA.
• Diverse assessment practices were reported, including cognitive discrepancy and response-to-intervention methods.

Conclusions:

• There is an international need for a consensus operational definition of dyslexia.
• Universal assessment guidelines for dyslexia are required.
• Future research should include psychologists outside the USA and adult populations.