SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTIES - sylviamoody.com

1 1 File 9 SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE DIFFICULTIES A WORKING PERSON'S GUIDE SCREENING CHECKLISTS Collated by: Dr Sylvia Moody Practitioner Psychologist A. Dyslexia: study DIFFICULTIES . B. Dyslexia: everyday DIFFICULTIES . C. Dyslexia: workplace DIFFICULTIES . D. Dyspraxia. E. ADHD. F. Visual stress / binocular problems. 2 A. DYSLEXIA: STUDY DIFFICULTIES Mark box for YES Reading reading quickly .. reading with good comprehension .. learning from books .. recalling what has been read .. reading aloud .. Writing writing neatly .. writing writing reversible letters (b, d, p, g, m, w) .. sequencing letters (was-saw) .. spelling .. putting ideas down in writing .. writing a cheque .. filling in forms.

2 Writing a letter .. writing a report / essay .. Speech and comprehension saying long words .. speaking in public .. explaining things to people simply and clearly .. cont. 3 following conversations or discussions .. taking notes at a lecture or meeting .. Memory and concentration remembering and following instructions .. remembering: messages .. telephone numbers .. times of trains or buses .. times of appointments .. doing sums in your head .. concentrating for long periods .. organising a work schedule / daily life .. Orientation following left/right instructions .. reading maps .. finding your way in a strange place .. looking things up in dictionaries / directories .. Emotional reactions Circle words or phrases that apply to you: frustrated angry confused lacking in confidence anxious defensive aggressive embarrassed low in self esteem depressed Other (please describe).

3 Checklist author: Sylvia Moody 4 B. DYSLEXIA: EVERYDAY DIFFICULTIES Mark box for YES Writing a cheque .. Filling in forms .. Writing letters .. Reading letters .. Reading official documents .. Reading a newspaper .. Understanding operating / safety instructions on household gadgets .. Reading television schedules .. Reading recipes .. Reading bus / train timetables .. Making shopping lists .. Dealing with money in Checking bank statements .. Keeping track of outstanding bills .. Explaining things clearly to others .. Placing orders over the telephone .. Conducting enquiries over the telephone .. Following spoken instructions .. Following left-right instructions .. Reading maps .. Reading signposts .. cont.

4 5 Orienting oneself in a strange place or complex environment, , tube station .. Remembering where things have been put .. Looking up telephone numbers in directories .. Recording telephone numbers correctly .. Remembering messages .. Remembering appointments .. Organising daily life .. Concentrating for longer than an hour .. Working continuously for longer than an hour .. Checklist author: Sylvia Moody 6 C. DYSLEXIA: WORKPLACE DIFFICULTIES Reading Mark box for YES following written instructions .. following technical manuals .. quickly getting gist of letters / reports etc .. recalling what has been read .. Writing confusing reversible letters, , b, d.

5 Sequencing letters (discussion - dicsussion) .. spelling .. handwriting .. filling in forms .. expressing ideas clearly in writing .. writing memos / letters / reports .. taking notes / Minutes .. Numerical data copying / tabulating numbers .. doing arithmetical calculations .. using calculator .. Speech and comprehension following a conversation / discussion .. contributing to a discussion .. presenting thoughts succinctly .. 7 Memory and concentration following oral instructions .. remembering: messages .. appointments .. concentrating for long periods .. Visuo-motor skills inputting data on computer / calculator .. analysing complex visual arrays, , maps, graphs, tables of figures .. getting bearings in large or complex buildings .. Sequencing filing .. retrieving files .. looking up entries in dictionaries / directories .. Organisation planning work schedules.

6 Meeting deadlines .. keeping papers in order .. working efficiently .. Checklist author: Sylvia Moody 8 D. DYSPRAXIA Do you often trip over and bump into things? .. Do you often spill or drop things? .. Do you find it hard to judge heights and distance? .. Is your writing difficult to read? .. Do you find it difficult telling left from right? .. Do you find it difficult to follow directions or find your way in a strange place? .. Are practical tasks hard for you to do, , riding a bike, .. Do you find sports difficult, especially team and ball games? .. Do you find a keyboard and/or a mouse hard to use? .. Does it take you longer to work things out than other people? .. Do you find it hard to do sums in your head? .. Do people sometimes find it hard to understand you? .. Do you find it hard to remember and follow instructions? .. Do you have poor social skills, interrupting people?

7 Are you extra sensitive to noise, touch, light or taste? .. Do you find it hard to concentrate for a period of time? .. Do you find it hard to make sense of information when listening or reading? .. Do you keep forgetting and losing things? .. Do you miss appointments? .. Do you have poor organisational skills? .. Checklist author: Key 4 Learning Ltd 9 E. ADHD Action Do you have difficulty in getting organised at work and in life generally unless you are following a definite routine? .. Do you tend to leave things until the very last moment? .. Do you find it difficult to plan ahead and set priorities, and have the feeling of being overwhelmed? .. Do you have problems in finishing activities within the expected time? .. Do you have problems in waking up or getting up unless you have something definite to look forward to? .. Attention Does your attention fluctuate so there are marked differences in the quality of work you produce on a daily basis?

8 Are you easily distracted, perhaps by your own thoughts, even when you are trying hard to focus and be attentive? .. At other times, does an activity absorb your attention to the exclusion of everything else? .. Do you have problems in shifting your attention to another activity as the need arises? .. Do you tend to work very quickly or impatiently and make mistakes? .. Are you a perfectionist and work very slowly to avoid making mistakes? .. Does it sometimes seem impossible to concentrate, even though you are not anxious or distracted? .. Do you tend to be very forgetful in daily life without regular reminders? .. Do you frequently lose or mislay possessions such as keys, documents, clothing? .. Restlessness 10 Do you often feel physically or mentally restless? .. Do you feel a need to be always on the go ? .. Do you have the feeling that others talk too slowly? .. Is it difficult to wait for others to complete a task, or to wait for your turn?

9 Do you feel more comfortable when engaged in stimulating activities? .. Impulsivity Do you tend to act impulsively without thinking things through? .. Do you tend to say things without thinking of the consequences? .. Do you have difficulty with controlling your emotions when frustrated, or would other people say that you can be tactless, or have a short fuse ? .. Are you a person who tends to take risks? .. Are you sometimes inconsistent or unpredictable in what you do and say? .. Do you tend to avoid going through the proper procedures, because you can do things more quickly your way? .. General Do you worry a lot and feel discouraged about things? .. Do you feel a sense of under-achievement, or that there is always some problem which crops up to interfere with your plans? .. Do you have quick changes of mood? .. Are you accident-prone? .. Is it difficult to sustain positive relationships over a period of time?

10 DIVA checklist 11 F. VISUAL STRESS / BINOCULAR PROBLEMS * Strong indicator of binocular vision problem + Strong indicator of visual stress. 1. Does reading make you tired? .. *2. Do you often lose your place when reading? .. *3. Do you re-read or skip lines when reading? .. *4. Do you read words / numbers back to front? .. *5. Do you miss out or mis-read words when reading? .. *6. Do you use a marker or your finger to keep the place? .. 7. Are you easily distracted when reading? .. 8. Do you become restless or fidgety when reading? .. 9. Do you get headaches when you read? .. 10. Do your eyes become sore or water? .. 11. Do you screw your eyes up when reading? .. 12. Do you rub or close one eye when reading? .. 13. Do your DIFFICULTIES increase the longer you read? .. +14. Do you prefer dim light to bright light for reading?