Literacy · Springfield and Ipswich
Reading assessments for children
If your child is behind in reading, the useful question is not how far behind — it is why. Two children at the same level are often stuck for opposite reasons and need opposite teaching.
A reading assessment answers that, and gives you a plan you can take to the school.
What a reading assessment tells you
“Behind in reading” is not a diagnosis, and it is not a plan. Two children reading at the same level can be stuck for completely different reasons — one cannot map sounds to letters, the other decodes accurately but understands very little of what they have just read. They need opposite things.
A reading assessment works out which it is. It looks at phonological awareness, letter–sound knowledge, decoding of real and nonsense words, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, so that what comes next is targeted rather than more of the same.
You get a plain-language explanation of where reading is breaking down, what to teach next and in what order, and something concrete you can take to your child’s school.
Who does them
Our reading assessments are completed by Beth Matthews, an early childhood intervention teacher registered with the Queensland College of Teachers.
Beth holds a Master of Education (Reading) from Griffith University, a Bachelor of Arts (English and Psychology) and a Diploma in Education from the University of Queensland, a Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care, and a Diploma in Montessori Education. She has more than four decades in teaching, learning support and inclusive education, including literacy consultancy and a period as Director of Inclusive Education.
That matters here for a specific reason: a reading assessment is only as useful as the teaching plan that comes out of it, and a plan is best written by someone who has actually taught children to read.
Where speech pathology fits
Reading difficulty and spoken language difficulty overlap a great deal. A child whose speech sounds were late, or whose vocabulary and sentence structure are behind, very often meets trouble when reading starts — because reading is built on the spoken language underneath it.
Where that is the picture, our speech pathologists work alongside the reading assessment rather than after it. You can read more about the foundations on our early literacy page, and about related work on speech sound difficulties and language delay.
What the process looks like
- A conversation first. What you are seeing at home, what the school has said, and what has already been tried.
- The assessment. Usually one appointment, broken up so it does not become a test your child feels they are failing.
- A plain-language explanation. What is going on, in words you can repeat to a teacher or a grandparent.
- A teaching plan. What to work on, in what order, and what you can realistically do at home.
- School handover, with your permission. The plan is far more likely to work if the classroom knows what it says.
- A review point. Set at the start, so progress gets checked rather than assumed.
Where we see children
- In our Raceview rooms on Robertson Road
- In our Springfield clinic
- At home
- At daycare, kindy or school
- In the community
- Online, across Australia
For GPs, paediatricians, educators and support coordinators
We take referrals from classroom teachers, learning support teachers, heads of inclusion, school guidance officers, GPs and paediatricians. Families do not need a referral to contact us, and a referral never goes to the back of a queue for being informal.
- However it suits you. A letter, a phone call, an email, or the appointment request form — we do not insist on a template.
- We confirm receipt. You will know the referral landed, and roughly how long the wait is for that discipline, rather than wondering.
- We write back. With the family’s consent, we send the referrer our findings, the goals agreed and the plan — at the start, and again at review. This is the part most services skip.
- We tell you when it is not us. If a child needs a different service, or needs one before ours, we will say so and point you to it.
For schools specifically: the assessment produces a teaching plan written to be used in a classroom, not a report that sits in a file. If you would like us to talk it through with the teacher, we will, with the family’s permission.
Direct line for referrers: 0480 841 300 · hello@accesstotherapy.com.au
Frequently asked questions
At what age can a reading assessment be useful?
Usually from around the end of the first year of school, once a child has had real teaching to respond to. Before that we would look at the early literacy foundations instead — sounds, rhyme, letter knowledge and oral language — which is often where the difficulty actually starts.
Is this a dyslexia assessment?
A reading assessment tells you precisely where reading is breaking down and what to teach next. A formal dyslexia diagnosis is a separate process, usually involving a psychologist. Plenty of families find the teaching plan is what they actually needed; if a diagnostic assessment would help you, we will say so and point you to it.
My child’s school says to wait and they will catch up. Should we?
Sometimes that is right, and sometimes it costs a year. The honest position is that children who are behind in reading tend to fall further behind without targeted teaching, because reading is how they access everything else. An assessment gives you evidence rather than a wait-and-see, and it is useful to the school too.
Ready to find out whether we are the right fit?
If a GP, paediatrician, child health nurse or your child’s kindy or school suggested you call us, let us know who — with your permission we will write back to them, so everyone working with your child is reading from the same plan.
We’ll partner with you to create a plan that works for your family — with access, empathy and hope.
Request an appointment Early literacyOr call 0480 841 300 · hello@accesstotherapy.com.au