Dyslexia Assessment

This is a comprehensive assessment that can assess for

  • dyslexia

  • dyscalculia

  • other specific underlying learning difficulties (working memory impairments, processing speed impairments etc.)

Suitable for children 7+ years old (please contact me if your child is younger and you would like to consider a dyslexia assessment).

This assessment includes a cognitive assessment, which helps us understand more about your child/young person’s learning skills and can provide an overall measure of IQ. This is a very valuable part of the assessment process that often provides insight and understanding about why a child or young person is struggling.

Measures of attainment in language, literacy and numeracy are administered. This helps us find out how your child/young person is currently performing in these areas. If a child is presenting with a specific difficulty in one or more areas, this assessment will identify this.

A detailed report will be made available for you within 2 weeks. If your child/young person is presenting with difficulties associated with dyslexia, dyscalculia or other specific underlying learning difficulty, this will be clearly outlined within the report.

Recommendations for home and school are given within the report. Liaison with the child or young person’s school can ensure that the outcome of the assessment is as beneficial as possible for them, and can support the child/young person’s application for examination access arrangements.

Total cost: £550 (non-refundable £50 deposit required to secure the assessment date).

Find out more about the assessment process. Suitable for parents and children.

Lily talks about dyslexia and visual difficulties.

Lily has a very sparkly personality and a positive message to share. She wants other young people to know it’s important to love yourself and ask for help. She is learning more about dyslexia and visual difficulties, and in this video explains what these mean to her.

Aurelia just found out she has dyslexia. She is learning that it means ‘you find some things tricky, but it doesn’t change who you are.’ This very wise 7 year old has the most sparkly personality, and important messages to share for others who are just starting out on their journey of learning about dyslexia.

John is in P7, and is already an expert farmer. Here, he tells us about his experience of finding out he has dyslexia. John knows that reading is something that is tough for him, but now he is hopeful that there are people and strategies there to help him.

Sophia is an upbeat, fun 8 year old who loves art and playing with her friends. She tells us how it felt finding out she has dyslexia. Sophia is such an encouragement for any other young person out there who is also finding out about their diagnosis!

 

 

Based in Northern Ireland

facebook: Ripple Services

Twitter @RippleServices

 

email

jo@ripple.services

 Educational Psychology Assessment

This assessment includes (but is not limited to):

  • cognitive assessment

  • assessment of literacy, language and numeracy

  • screening for neurodevelopment conditions (such as ADHD, ASD)

  • assessment of social and emotional concerns

  • assessment of attention and concentration skills

  • assessment of self-esteem

  • assessment of behavioural concerns

This assessment is suitable for children aged 4+ years.

This assessment is beneficial for parents who have a child or young person presenting with concerns in any of the above areas. It can give a parent insight into the challenges their child/young person is facing and can provide guidance and advice on how best to support them.

A report is available within 2 weeks. It will provide detailed information on the assessment, and advice and recommendations for parents and school. Liaison with the child/young person’s school can support the implementation of advice given.

Cost of assessment: £550 (£50 deposit required to secure assessment date).

Please note: this assessment is not a formal ADHD/ASD assessment and cannot lead to diagnosis.

Watch this video to find out more about the assessment process, with language that is friendly and accessible for all ages.

Meet Gabriella and her Mum, Emma. Gabriella has a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and shares her thoughts about staying calm and reducing stress.

Emma has two daughters on the Spectrum, and she speaks about acceptance, friendship, and managing behaviour. I promise, if you are parenting a child with an ASD diagnosis, this is well worth the watch!

How do you help your child understand the outcome of assessment? Find out more here.

Video Interaction Guidance

Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) is a special approach to help adults improve communication with children and support them in areas they are finding challenging - for example, a child with challenging behaviour or poor social and communication skills.

It works by looking at very short films of moments between you and your child when things are going well. We try to understand what it is that is working well in the clip and how we can apply this to the challenging situation. It can be used with very young babies right through to young adults.

VIG is an international approach with a strong evidence base. It has been recognised in a number of important guidelines including NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) and 1001 Days Manifesto. It is one of two key interventions used by the NSPCC (see here) to improve parenting. The Mental Health Foundation, NHS and other service providers are currently using VIG. 

VIG can be used with parents and children, and with professionals working with children.

Jo offers:

If you would like to ask about using VIG at home or in your professional setting, or you are a professional who would like to be trained to use VIG yourself, please contact me now.

Read more about VIG here.

Adult Dyslexia Assessment

If you are aged 18+ and you feel like you have always struggled with elements of reading and/or writing, then you might be dyslexic.

It is not unusual for adults to have gone through the school system undiagnosed. You might have felt frustrated at your difficulty keeping up with your peers, possibly leaving school early and choosing a more practical career path to play to your strengths and avoid lengthy reading and writing tasks.

This assessment includes:

  • assessment of cognitive skills (this will explore cognitive strength/ areas of impairment)

  • measures of literacy, number and language

  • detailed recommendations and advice

Cost of assessment: £550

For Parents

In addition to assessment work, you can request a consultation for advice and guidance. For example:

  • reducing challenging behaviour

  • reducing your child/young person’s feelings of anxiety

  • addressing emotionally - based school avoidance

  • improving your relationship or bond with your baby/child/young person

  • improving your child/young person’s mental health and emotional wellbeing

  • supporting transition into nursery or new school.

Expert advice, based on years of study and practical experience, should help you to support your child/young person at home.

Please contact Jo for more information.

I’d like you to meet Anne. She’s 11. Her favourite dog in the whole world is Charlie, she loves to clean, and she happens to have Autism Spectrum Disorder. In her own words, Anne is ‘unique and special’! In this video Anne talks about her diagnosis and gives other young people, parents and teachers some great advice about having an ASD. She also make a great book recommendation. Grab a cup of tea and take 10 minutes to listen to this amazing young person tell her story!

Privacy Policy

 
 

in line with General Data Protection Guidelines...

It's my priority to safeguard all families and professionals I work with. One way in which I can do that is to be transparent about the policies and procedures I work within.

Ripple's Privacy Notice is available here.

Additional policies on safeguarding etc are also available on request, please contact Jo Hewitt for more information here.

 

 
 

NEWS

Award Winning Service

Ripple services is proud to have won ‘Specialism of the Year’ Care and Compassion Excellence Awards 2025. This recognises the VIG support for families and professionals across N. Ireland.

Ripple Services was the recipient of ‘Educational Psychology Service of the Year 2024’. and ‘Most Supportive Learning Assessment Provider 2023’!

Amazing Young people!

Wow! The courage of the young people on this page who have shared their story never fails to make me smile. I am so impressed with how these young people have shared their story so that others can feel encouraged.

Watch the video below to find out more.

Explainer videos: cognitive assessments

Struggling to understand all the jargon in reports? Explainer videos are now available. These hopefully make things terms like ‘fluid reasoning skills’ and ‘verbal comprehension skills’ more clear and accessible.

These short videos use practical examples and provide suggestions and ideas that can help you support your child or young person straight away in these areas.

Just click here to learn more.

Video Interaction Guidance

For up-to-date information on training, supervision and intervention just contact Jo.

 Testimonials

“We got in touch with Jo through the dyslexia centre in Belfast. I was having my twins assessed and because of this Jo was kind enough to visit our house to do the assessment. Jo send lots of information and a photo of herself before the assessment so I was able to explain to the children what was happening and they were well prepared for the assessment.

Jo was relaxed and friendly with the children and they both took to her straight away. She took each child individually and spent a lot of time with each of them.  Both Children really enjoyed their time with Jo. After assessing the children Jo explained her initial findings to myself and my partner and it gave us a great insight into the struggles both children were experiencing.

Her report followed less than 2 weeks later and was very comprehensive. Their teacher actually commented on how useful the report was and that she has never seen one with so much information before. The report really captured the children and their strengths and areas where they are struggling.

Jo has been so helpful and I would highly recommend her, a true professional.”

“Jo has made an such positive difference to our children's lives, overall wellbeing and educational aspirations. Jo assessed and diagnosed two of our children with dyslexia, she was kind and made them feel so at ease throughout the process that the assessment didn't feel like a test. They were finding school difficult and their anxiety levels were very high because of this, when my children heard they had dyslexia and that there was a reason for the difficulties we could see the relief in them immediately and their stress melt away. We were as parents also very relieved as we knew with dyslexia it was about finding different ways of learning and nurturing our Childrens' amazing strengths and talents. Jo supported us throughout the whole process and beyond and advised of strategies to use at home and supports that could be put in place at school, these have been life changing for us all. Our eldest child is now in 1st Year in Grammar school and loving every minute of it, our second child has just sat the Primary Transfer assessment because the confidence he has gained since seeing Jo and the help we were able to provide as a family. Thank you Jo, we will be forever grateful.”

Mum of 10 year old son

“Jo was great with our son, and immediately put him at ease. He enjoyed working with her, and described it as much more fun than being at school! As parents, we were delighted to receive Jo’s professional advice, and found her assessment and suggestions extremely insightful and helpful. Jo was also very willing to work with us as parents to ensure that the individual needs of our son were considered and met. Many thanks for a great experience – we are very happy to highly recommend Jo to others!”

Meet Rebecca. She loves animals (especially her cat Marley) and is great at art. She tells us why finding out she has dyslexia was really important for her and gives other young people and adults some encouraging advice!

Sometimes people find out they have dyslexia when they are young. Others, like Aimee, find out a bit later. Aimee is 16 and describes what getting a dyslexia diagnosis at this age was like for her. She has some great advice for others her age, who are wondering about what dyslexia is and if they might have it.

About Ripple Psychological Services

Dr Jo Hewitt is an Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychologist.

She qualified from her Doctoral degree in Queen’s University Belfast in 2009.

She has worked as an Educational Psychologist since this date, and has extensive experience providing assessment, training and intervention for parents, professionals and children. Jo hopes to put the child at the centre of all of her work. It is important for her that the children and young people she works with feel empowered, hopeful and better-equipped to face their challenges. In 2015, she began working independently, and over the years has grown her business Ripple Psychological Services.

Jo has a number of areas in which she has specialised in, including:

  • Early Years support and intervention, having worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team supporting professionals, parents and children with special educational needs in early years settings.

  • Video Interaction Guidance (VIG). Jo is the first VIG Supervisor and Trainer in Northern Ireland. She supports professionals including social workers, clinical psychologists, family support workers and educational psychologists who are training in VIG across Ireland.

  • Dyslexia. Jo has taken opportunities to extend her knowledge and experience in dyslexia, exploring areas such as dyscalculia, visual processing difficulties and dysgraphia in more depth.

Jo is a member of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Association of Video Interaction Guidance UK (AVIGuk).

You can email Dr Jo Hewitt at jo@ripple.services.

You can also contact her on Facebook at: Ripple Services

Jo is based in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. She works mainly within Northern Ireland and Ireland.

You can expect a response within 48 hours.