Adult Dyslexia Screening Test

Think you might have dyslexia? Try one of the following free screening tests to see if you are at risk of having it. These tests were designed by different authors, but they have high validity in predicting whether or not the participant might have dyslexia. You can even do both tests just to compare results.

Two things to note:

These tests are only for adults and students in post-secondary institutions like ITEs, polytechnics, and universities.
They only show whether or not you might have dyslexia. To ascertain if you really do have it, a formal diagnosis is necessary.

Test #1: Adult Reading History Questionnaire

Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ)

Link to research paper here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8211169_Reliability_and_Validity_of_the_Adult_Reading_History_Questionnaire

NOTE: This version of the test has been modified to use the International Dyslexia Association's scoring system, which also factors gender into the calculation of results. Additionally, some questions have been worded differently to make them more culturally relevant and contextually appropriate to modern Singapore.

Are you male or female?

Male

Female

Which of the following best describes your attitude toward school when you were a child?

0 (Loved school; favourite activity)

4 (Hated school; tried to get out of going)

How much difficulty did you have when learning to read in preschool and primary school?

0 (None)

4 (A great deal)

How much extra help did you need when learning to read in preschool and primary school?

0 (No help)

1 (Friends)

2 (Teachers/parents)

3 (Tutors or special classes, 1 year)

4 (Tutors or special classes, 2 or more years)

Did you ever reverse the order of letters or numbers when you were a child?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

Did you have trouble learning letter and/or colour names when you were a child?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

How would you compare your reading to that of others in your preschool and primary school classes?

0 (Above average)

2 (Average)

4 (Below average)

All students struggle from time to time in school. In comparison to others in your classes, how much did you struggle to complete your work?

0 (Not at all)

1 (Less than most)

2 (About the same)

3 (More than most)

4 (Much more than most)

Did you experience difficulty in secondary school or college English classes?

0 (No; enjoyed and did well)

2 (Some)

4 (A great deal; did poorly)

What is your current attitude toward reading?

0 (Very positive)

4 (Very negative)

How much reading do you do for pleasure?

0 (A great deal)

2 (Some)

4 (None)

How would you compare your current reading speed to that of others of the same age and education?

0 (Above average)

2 (Average)

4 (Below average)

How much reading do you do in conjunction with your work? (If retired or not working, how much did you read when you were working?)

0 (A great deal)

2 (Some)

4 (None)

How much difficulty did you have learning to spell in preschool and primary school?

0 (None)

2 (Some)

4 (A great deal)

How would you compare your current spelling to others of the same age and education?

0 (Above average)

2 (Average)

4 (Below average)

Did your parents ever consider having you repeat any years in school due to academic failure (not illness)?

0 (No)

1 (Talked about it, but didn't do it)

2 (Repeated 1 year)

3 (Repeated 2 years)

4 (Dropped out)

Do you ever have any difficulty remembering people's names or names of places?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

Do you have difficulty remembering addresses, phone numbers, or dates?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

Do you have difficulty remembering complex verbal instructions?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

Do you currently reverse the order of letters or numbers when you read or write?

0 (No)

4 (A great deal)

How many books do you read for pleasure each year?

0 (More than 10)

1 (6-10)

2 (2-5)

3 (1-2)

4 (None)

How many magazines do you read for pleasure each month?

(You may include online platforms that offer text-heavy content, e.g., tabloid websites, blogs, online forums, and social media sites like Reddit.)

0 (5 or more)

1 (3-4 regularly)

2 (1-2 regularly)

3 (1-2 irregularly)

4 (None)

Do you read daily (Monday-Friday) newspapers?

(You may include digital news platforms, e.g., Straits Times, CNA, Today Online, etc.)

0 (Every day)

1 (Once a week)

2 (Once in a while)

3 (Rarely)

4 (Never)

Do you read a newspaper on Sunday?

(You may include digital news platforms, e.g., Straits Times, CNA, Today Online, etc.)

0 (Completely every Sunday)

1 (Skim through articles each week)

2 (Once in a while)

3 (Rarely)

4 (Never)

Test #2: Adult Dyslexia Checklist

Adult Dyslexia Checklist

Link to original document here:
https://cdn.bdadyslexia.org.uk/uploads/documents/Dyslexia/Adult-Checklist-1.pdf

Do you confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you lose your place or miss out lines when reading?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you confuse the names of objects, for example table for chair?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you have trouble telling left from right?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Is map reading or finding your way to a strange place confusing?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you re-read paragraphs to understand them?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you get confused when given several instructions at once?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you make mistakes when taking down telephone messages?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

Do you find it difficult to find the right word to say?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

How often do you think of creative solutions to problems?

Rarely

Occasionally

Often

Most of the time

How easy do you find it to sound out words such as e-le-phant?

Easy

Challenging

Difficult

Very difficult

When writing, do you find it difficult to organise thoughts on paper?

Easy

Challenging

Difficult

Very difficult

Did you learn your multiplication tables easily?

Easy

Challenging

Difficult

Very difficult

How easy do you find it to recite the alphabet?

Easy

Challenging

Difficult

Very difficult

How hard do you find it to read aloud?

Easy

Challenging

Difficult

Very difficult

We would love to hear from you!

Resources

Test #1: Adult Reading History Questionnaire

Test #2: Adult Dyslexia Checklist

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