Dyslexia Test

(and it’s mostly not about reading/writing!)

More than just shuffled letters

This video provides a self-test based on the Bangor Dyslexia Test (BDT). The BDT is 94% accurate in identifying dyslexia, and it includes 9 parts, with a mix of questions and tasks. Answering “yes” or struggling with tasks indicates possible dyslexia. Collecting 4+ indicators suggests dyslexia, but of course is not a replacement for official diagnosis.

It’s best to watch the video if you can, but here’s what to expect:

1. Left-Right confusion: point your left hand to your right/left shoulder.
2. Family history: any family members with dyslexia or struggles with reading/writing?
3. Repeating numbers (order): repeat a given sequence of numbers in order.
4. Letter confusion (e.g. b/d): do you confuse letters like “b” and “d” beyond age 8?
5. Times tables: recite the 6, 7, and 8 times tables.
6. Word manipulation: replace the letters in a word to create a new word, e.g. change “slide” (s ⇾ g) to “glide.”
7. Repeating numbers (reversed): repeat a given sequence of numbers in reverse order.
8. Months in reverse: recite the months of the year in reverse order.
9. Subtraction: do you struggle with subtraction, e.g. 44-9 or 55-12?

Writer’s anecdote: I am not dyslexic, and/but I have an impressive level of dyscalculia (the purely numerical equivalent), to the point I’ll sometimes use a calculator to do single-digit calculations, and I am so bad at calculating ages or other differences between dates (I will have to count on my fingers or else run the severe risk of out-by-one errors). I have also been known to make mistakes counting down from 10, which really ruins dramatic tension.

In contrast, the left-right thing is interesting, because when I was first learning Arabic, I had no trouble reading/writing right-to-left, but I initially struggled so much to remember which way the “backspace” key would take me (in Arabic the backspace key backspaces to the right, despite still pointing to the left).

Anyway, for the test itself, enjoy:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

Reading, Better (Reading As A Cognitive Exercise)

Take care!