Question: Throughout high school and my beginning years of university I have always struggled with reading comprehension and writing and I feel like its been extra hard because of everything being online. When I was younger in elementary I can remember seeing a reading evaluation/ tutor often to score my reading level and it has always been on the lower end. I excel in many other categories of school including sciences and math, however I get significantly lower marks in writing or reading courses. Recently when talking to a  class member in a group project ,they reveled that they were dyslexic and what that was like for them. I was too shy to ask them the steps they took to get  tested/ diagnose, as a lot of what they described I have experienced. What are the steps as my google searches have not been  helpful as they focus on children and I’m not sure what resources MRU has.

Response:

Hello,

I’m so glad a student shared their experience, since it started you on the road to getting some of your questions answered. I also appreciate that you submitted it here so others can benefit from you asking this question. 

Here are my thoughts:

Getting tested for a formal diagnosis of a learning disability can go a long way to accessing resources to improve your performance with reading and writing tasks. It can often also help with the frustration that can come with seeing yourself excel in one area and not in another. 

In terms of resources at MRU, Access and Inclusion Services are your go-to experts. You do need documentation of a diagnosis to speak with an Access Advisor and so here are a couple of suggestions about how to begin accessing an assessment. 

1. I would encourage you to explore if there was any formal diagnosis on record from your years in grade school. Students don’t always know what is there in terms of an assessment and it seems, from your account, that your teachers were aware of your challenges. The smarts reflected in your performance in math and science and good study habits, may have gone a long way to addressing a reading and writing learning disability.  It may not have seemed necessary to continue to support you with the tutors you mentioned. Although you sometimes require a more up-to-date assessment, this initial paperwork might get you started.
2. If you do have paperwork, you can go online, submit this, and book an appointment with an Access Advisor. 
3. If you do not have any documentation, you can make an appointment with Student Counselling Services and we will do an initial screening based on a report of your learning experiences. We do not do a formal assessment, but can refer you to Accessibility and Inclusion to speak with an Access Advisor to look into some learning support while you are waiting for an assessment, and they may also be able to facilitate access to an assessment. You can ask an Access Advisor about this when you meet.
4. You can also get an assessment yourself with a psychologist who specializes in psychoeducational assessments. The Psychologists’ Association of Alberta has a link to find a psychologist. You can narrow the search to Calgary, and Learning Disabilities, and further limit your search to psychologists who charge on a sliding scale or who give discounts to students (it is an extensive assessment and therefore can be quite expensive). You can also see if your health plan (the MRU student plan, or if you are still on your parents’ plan) covers some of the assessment.

I hope that helps to get you started. Thanks again for submitting your question and thereby maybe helping others to access resources to support their learning. 

All the best,

Mirjam Knapik, PhD, R.Psych

Student Counselling Services