Dyslexia Assessment

why dyslexia assessment

Natalie is a sought-after dyslexia clinician who assesses children and adults all over California and receives referrals from pediatricians, neuropsychs, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, teachers, and private schools. Natalie performs both private assessments and IEEs. Her assessments are guided by a problem-solving approach, as she believes an assessment is only as good as the plan of action it sets in motion.

assessments for children: beyond a diagnosis

Natalie's assessment process is designed to be low-stress for children and illuminating for parents. It involves just one 1.5 hour assessment session in a warm and comfortable space with a parent present. Following assessment, parents are provided with a report of 10-15 pages and meet with Natalie to review the results and recommendations in detail. Assessment reports achieve the following goals:

Determine whether or not a child has dyslexia; explain the child's strengths and weaknesses in terms that parents and teachers can understand
Establish concrete baselines so clinicians can start intervention immediately without performing further testing
Recommended actionable next steps that will lead to immediate improvement in the child's school experience and quality of life
Help parents develop a basic understanding of dyslexia and recommend resources they can utilize to extend their knowledge and find support

Parents end the process feeling empowered and confident in how to help their child succeed.

areas assessed

Assessments may investigate any of the following areas:

Processing

Literacy

Phonological Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
Phonological Memory
Rapid Naming
Vocabulary
Visual Memory
Executive Functioning

Decoding
Sight Word Reading
Oral Reading Fluency
Reading Comprehension
Spelling
Handwriting
Phonics

screenings for adults: demystifying past struggles

Natalie's adult dyslexia screenings are informal, flexible, and client-directed. Adults decide the volume of testing they'd like to undergo and testing can take place over either 1 or 2 sessions. Natalie tailors the process to each individual's needs in a casual, no-stress atmosphere where clients feel like they're meeting with a friend, who just happens to be a dyslexia expert! Screenings achieve the following goals:

Give adults closure about their areas of difficulty and answer unresolved questions
Help them understand strengths and weaknesses within the context of dyslexic thinking patterns
Provide resources to increase literacy or organization skills, if desired
Provide documentation to submit at work to gain accommodations that reduce stress. These may include exemption from reading aloud at meetings or delivering presentations to large groups.

cost

Natalie's assessments are priced on a sliding scale depending on each client's age and assessment needs. Generally, her assessments are 1/4 of the cost of neuropsychologist assessments, as Natalie believes every individual deserves to know if they have dyslexia, without cost being a barrier.

follow up support

Natalie provides case management services to many families post-assessment. These services include attending school meetings with parents (her reports qualify children for accommodations at private schools and 504 Plans at public schools), assisting families in finding local therapy providers, scheduling further assessment with related professionals, and consulting with the professionals on a child's team.

assessment locations

Walnut Creek
PlaySpace Therapy

El Dorado Hills
It Takes the Village

South Lake Tahoe/Nevada
Temple Bat Yam

locations of clients served

Bay Area: Walnut Creek, Concord, Clayton, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, San Francisco, San Bruno, Discovery Bay, Oakdale, Modesto

Greater Sac, Central Valley, and Tahoe: Sacramento, Madera/Fresno, Roseville, Rancho Murieta, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Rescue, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Placerville, El Dorado, Pollock Pines, Meyers, South Lake Tahoe

client feedback

Natalie came highly recommended by our pediatrician after we reached out with concerns regarding our child's progress with developmental skills in literacy. We knew our child showed dyslexia traits, and we wanted to have a comprehensive assessment to find out how best to understand and target his needs. Natalie was professional, and completed her assessment in two sessions. She sent us a detailed report in less time that we expected that was clear to understand, and came with an action plan. In the short time we have worked with Natalie, she has targeted her approach and instruction to focus on the areas of weakness that are helping our son build his confidence and skills.
Parent of a 1st Grader in Folsom, CA

Natalie came highly recommended to us by a local school for dyslexics. My daughter's teacher suspected her to have dyslexia and we sought testing during Shelter in Place. We were very fortunate to find Natalie during this challenging year - we were quickly able to book our assessment in person in a safe, calm and fun environment. My daughter felt very comfortable working with Natalie. We received a very thorough report with helpful recommendations. As a result, my daughter was easily able to qualify for a 504 plan at her public school. This was the catalyst to get her on the right path for learning and my family is so grateful to have found Natalie.
Parent of a 3rd Grader at Walnut Acres Elementary

Natalie was recommended to me by another parent. I knew from preschool that my daughter struggled, first learning the alphabet, and then reading. I saw things that made me think she might have dyslexia. When I talked to her kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher they said she was a bit behind in reading but not to worry, she was recommended for summer school and reading intervention, and would be fine. Finally, a friend had me talk to her friend whose daughter was dyslexic and was being tutored by Natalie. It was an eye-opening conversation. I called Natalie for an assessment, she got us in within the month. She spent two sessions with my daughter each approximately 1 and half hours. The passion Natalie feels for her work is evident. Her assessment was very thorough. She could not work with my daughter, but she gave me several names of qualified people who had space and could work with my daughter, which was of tremendous help. She also, advised me of how best to talk with my daughter about her dyslexia, how to talk with her teachers and the school. She gave me several recommendations on books to read with my daughter about dyslexia. It is a relief to finally know and get the help my daughter needs. Natalie is a gem.
Parent of a second grader Tassajara Elementary School

Natalie has truly been a life saver for our family. We sought Natalie's advice after spending years trying to understand why some things weren't clicking for our daughter. Within weeks of meeting Natalie, we had all of the answers we'd been seeking. Natalie's analysis was spot on. She presented the information to us in a clear and concise way. She educated us and provided great additional resources on learning differences. She provided helpful advice on how to best move forward and she gave us so much hope. She's kind, patient and so knowledgeable. She even continues to check in on our progress. I only wish we'd found her sooner!
Parent of a 2nd Grader in Walnut Creek

My daughter was identified by her classroom teacher as potentially having dyslexia just before we went into Shelter In Place. I was fortunate enough to be quickly connected to Natalie. Natalie was able to assess my daughter during our quarantine, indentifying her learning disability, which was beyond helpful as we started online learning. My daughter quickly connected to Natalie, establishing trust. Natalie helped her understand her challenges and also all of her strengths. Since we started with Natalie, my daughter has shined. She had to start a new school this year and the preparations with Natalie over the summer helped to make a smooth transition. My daughter continues to grow and has improved in both reading and spelling. She is starting to become more confident with her reading, evening volunteering to read in class or to her younger cousins. She looks forward to her time with Natalie and knows it only brings her more success. I am so grateful to Natalie for her patience and expertise.
Parent of a Saint Francis Student

My daughter’s progress in 8 short months has been spectacular. Her spelling, decoding difficult words and handwriting has improved significantly. She is eager to do her homework and for the first time there are no tears. She also feels very proud of her accomplishments with her confidence skyrocketing. Before we started working with Natalie, I almost accepted the fact that my daughter will never excel academically, but now with Natalie’s help I realize there are accommodations that can be made to help her shine.
Parent of a St. Mary's 4th Grader

I contacted Natalie over the summer as my incoming 4th grader was really struggling with reading and reading comprehension. Natalie tested my daughter and we found out she is dyslexic. Since then Natalie has been a constant source of knowledge, help, and encouragement on what will work best for my daughter. We are in the process of getting her a 504 Plan through the school district and Natalie has been working with her twice a week to get her up to speed. I would highly recommend Natalie as she has taught me so many helpful strategies to make life less frustrating for my daughter.
Parent in Walnut Creek, CA

Natalie is fantastic! She is bright and one of the few experts in our area that can provide excellent multi sensory, individualized, and sequential support. My son made great progress with her guidance. Her assessments are extremely thorough and she is helpful with advice for next steps.
Parent of a Lafayette Elementary School Student

Natalie Powell has our highest recommendation for academic assessment (language arts) and educational therapy for dyslexia.
Our daughter is a bright and articulate third grader that has struggled with reading and spelling. Natalie came recommended by our pediatrician.

Natalie’s language arts assessment begins with a comprehensive record review and detailed questions for the parent/caregiver. The assessment took place at two one-and-a-half hour sessions. Natalie creates a caring, supportive, no-pressure testing environment. Our daughter really enjoyed the assessment and testing process, which is a testament to the atmosphere that Natalie creates.
The language arts assessment confirmed that our daughter has dyslexia. The assessment report was fantastic: detailed, but with actionable, easy-to-understand recommendations. After the assessment, we met with Natalie to discuss the results, and develop a shared game plan for using the results to help our daughter. Following our meeting with Natalie, she joined us for a meeting with our daughter’s teachers to share the assessment, and answer questions about dyslexia. Natalie is competent, confident, and a phenomenal resource for understanding learning differences.

We appreciate that in both the assessment recommendations, and in educational therapy, Natalie focuses on preserving, and enhancing, the strengths of your individual child. Natalie empowers our daughter to overcome the hurdles presented by her dyslexia and encourages her to pursue her passions (science and art). We could not be more fortunate to have Natalie on our daughter’s team!
Parent of a Palmer School student

I cannot say enough about how helpful, skilled, and knowledgeable Natalie Powell is. After 3 years of struggling with our daughter in school (who has an IEP), I was referred to Natalie for further testing, to basically tell me what her IEP could not. It did come as a surprise to me that along with some learning difficulties we already knew she had, she also is dyslexic, and has dyslexia in math, which explained a lot. Although this was not easy news, I felt I finally could start getting our daughter the help she needed, and had some answers as to why she was struggling so much. In addition to testing our daughter, Natalie also worked one on one with her in Math, and after only a few months, our daughter knows her times tables, and even looked forward to learning them because of how much fun Natalie made each session. I’m very greatful to have met and worked with Natalie, she has been so amazing and valuable in this journey with our daughter, and I would highly recommend her !
Parent of a fourth grader at Palmer

Our experience with Natalie was wonderful! We were so stressed watching our son suffer and not getting support or answers from school. We are beyond grateful we were referred to Natalie, she was thorough and incredibly patient with our son meeting him exactly where he was and even cutting sessions short when she knew he had enough and scheduling additional ones so she knew she had the full picture. She is a wonderful combination of warmth and professionalism and is incredibly dedicated to putting the child's needs first.

The information we discovered through Natalie gave us just what we needed to go to our school and make sure our son got all the support he needed for success.

Natalie went well beyond the normal call of duty and was available for questions and consultation beyond the assessment. When as a parent you are thrown into the world of IEPs, special resources, etc.. you feel lost and overwhelmed and Natalie helped our entrie family navigate the process and referred us to other amazing professionals who could also help.

I highly recommend her services and have sent dear friends whose kids are also struggling her way.
Karis, Walnut Creek Mom

To have an expert resource and a confident individual so perfectly equip to meet a child’s need, and to teach a parent how to do the same, is invaluable. Natalie Powell has our highest recommendation for assessing and treating children with dyslexia. Our son is a bright and articulate student who has struggled with reading and spelling since Kindergarten. After several failed attempts to get answers and support from school and other professionals, Natalie was the one individual who recognized my son’s gifts and was able to detect the underlying cause of his emotional frustrations. Even though he was functioning at “grade level” according to the district standards, Natalie was able to instantly identify his gaps in decoding words, reading, and spelling. Once we were able to put a name to what was going, explain to our son he was smart, and that his brain just learns differently, we immediately saw a boost in his confidence and self-esteem. My son’s world has changed, for the better, and Natalie is hugely responsible for that.
Parent of a Walnut Heights School Student

Our 3rd grade daughter was struggling with reading and spelling, despite receiving "meets standards" on her report cards. We had attempted to get her a tutor, but it didn't improve the situation much for her. One day, our daughter came to us and was upset as she felt she was falling behind in class as she couldn't read a chapter book like the other kids in her class. We spoke to a few friends and one of them suggested getting her tested for dyslexia.

We got a referral for Natalie and setup an evaluation with her for the following week. The experience was fantastic. Natalie was very responsive and the multi-session evaluation was eye-opening. Our daughter loved Natalie as she made it fun, approachable and non-threatening. She explained to our daughter every step of the process and walked her through each of the evaluation phases.

After the evaluation, Natalie quickly provided us with the report which contained a ton of very detailed information on each part of the assessment and a very comprehensive recommendation section. The report was invaluable for us as parents and her recommendations were spot on regarding how to talk to our daughter about this and start to help her with her dyslexia.

Our daughter has begun working with Natalie after school to help her in the specific areas and so far our daughter is really connecting well with Natalie and looking forward to each of the sessions.

Overall our experience with Natalie has been wonderful and as a family, we look forward to working with her to help our daughter.
Parent of a Tice Creek School Student

We had our 3rd grader assessed by Natalie after having a full psych/ed evaluation last year. We were having a hard time identifying how to assist our child with her learning differences. The thoroughness of Natalie's report and her recommendations with action steps were, by far, superior to what we received from the prior testing. She was engaging and made my daughter feel comfortable. Natalie punctually responded to my numerous emails, both pre and post the session. Her passion and commitment to helping families navigate the myriad of approaches to take with a child who is having learning differences is what sets her apart.
Orinda Parent

We had our child assessed by Natalie due to gaps in his spelling and reading abilities despite our school district saying he was reading at grade level/had few concerns. Not only was Natalie able to isolate the deficits in our child's ability to decode words and write/spell but she was also able to isolate his strengths so we could understand where he's struggling, how it may effect his future, and why he continues to fly under the radar at school. Natalie demonstrates a phenomenal expertise not only in diagnosing and treating dyslexia but also in regards to knowing and interpreting the various curricula being used in our school district, various resources in the area, and how to pull it all together to navigate next steps and levels of support for our child. In addition to thorough assessment results, Natalie provided us with concrete recommendations we could implement immediately at home, specific ways we could navigate various levels of the school system to support our child's learning, and a variety of options for treating our child's dyslexia. She was patient in answering all of our questions and truly made the diagnosis feel like we are finally opening a door for our child rather than closing any. If you have any concerns about your child's reading, writing/spelling, or math I can't recommend Natalie enough for both her thorough assessment process and ability to problem solve what to do about the results.
Parent of a Walnut Heights Second Grader

After many months of watching our 1st grade daughter struggle in school, we began doing research and were referred to Natalie for testing. This was the best decision we ever made for her. Natalie was very responsive and walked us through what the whole assessment process entailed from beginning to end. Our daughter was nervous but Natalie was kind, caring and gentle. She always explained the tests and told her that "I don't know" was an acceptable answer. This put our daughter at ease. The testing environment was calm and testing was broken into multiple sessions. Our daughter never complained about going back for the sessions. Although our daughter did not know many of the answers, Natalie was always encouraging and never made her feel lees than. Natalie provided us was a thorough assessment with specific details as to which areas she was struggling with. This was invaluable to help us find resources to help put our daughter on the right path. Our daughter has come such a long way and it all started with Natalie's help. Now we know that she learns in a different way and are able to better support her. We are so grateful to have found her!!
Parent of a Walnut Creek 2nd grader

We are very pleased to have found Natalie. Natalie evaluated my child and created a cohesive plan to address his dyslexia. As a fellow allied health professional in a similar field, I felt comfortable with Natalie's plan and found it be thorough and research-based. Most importantly, my child absolutely loved Natalie and his work with her. He couldn't wait to see her and made incredible strides in an intensive, but short period of time (just months!). We cannot recommend Natalie more highly.
Parent of a Palmer 4th grader

We feel so unbelievably lucky to have found Natalie. She has changed our daughter's life and we are forever grateful. Our daughter spent two years struggling in school and continued to fall behind. Once we had her assessed and began our sessions with Natalie, everything changed! Natalie teaches our daughter in a way that her brain can understand. She makes the sessions fun and is continually offering new methods of learning. Our daughter meets with Natalie three times a week and never once complained. She looked forward to her time with Natalie. Her confidence has sky rocketed and she is now performing at grade level! I never could have imagined such immediate and dramatic results. Watching your child struggle in school is heartbreaking and we are indebted to Natalie for teaching our daughter to love learning again.
Parent of Walnut Heights Elementary 2nd Grader

I was referred to Natalie by my daughter’s 4th grade teacher due to suspected dyslexia. I had worked with teachers for years and tried tutoring and other techniques to maintain her at barely grade-level. Natalie did a thorough assessment of my 10 year-old and then provided an extremely comprehensive follow up report detailing my daughter’s dyslexia results and potential recommendations that I could implement with the school.
I was vaguely familiar with IEPs, 504s and school evaluations. But Natalie knows this stuff cold. She is a true advocate. It’s great to have someone in your corner who is well-networked and knowledgeable to help navigate through the school system. She supported the 504 process and helped me strategize about how best to utilize the available school resources. Natalie also helped set both short and longer term goals for my daughter’s growth in educational therapy sessions. After only a few months of 1:1 educational therapy, there was a noticeable difference in the quality and accuracy of work that came home from school. The techniques Natalie employs work --my daughter is able to apply what she has learned and feels less frustration and more confidence. Natalie teaches my daughter in a way that makes sense to her – and it is sticking. I’m excited and my daughter is excited to continue to work with Natalie. I have recommended her to my friends and have no hesitation saying that Natalie is a highly qualified subject matter expert in her field.
Parent of a Buena Vista Elementary Student - Walnut Creek

We cannot recommend Natalie Powell enough; she is remarkable! She is always the “first responder” when I email questions to her or our team. She has been a true lifesaver by assessing my son who has dyslexia and informing us of the next steps along the journey. It can be a very confusing road, and she has been so very helpful. She recommended excellent professionals for assessments my son needed in other arenas, tutors, etc. You name it, and she’ll know about it! She is incredibly thorough and detail-oriented in all she does. She was able to pinpoint problem areas for my son, which were difficult to detect in other settings. We are in the IEP process now and my son is on his way to getting services and learning the right tools to succeed. We are so grateful for Natalie’s help, support and wisdom throughout this entire process. She's so knowledgable...you will enjoy the clarity she provides for your kids, and the clear steps to move forward. I love her instagram page too, it has lots of great information.
Parents of a Happy Valley 4th grader

Our daughter struggled for years in many academic areas. We had her tested outside of the school district in 3rd grade. Nothing was discovered as 'a learning disability.' Years passed, and the tears, frustration, and struggles continued. It was a nightly battle to complete homework and study for tests. But our child still tried and tried to succeed. Finally, at the end of 6th grade we knew we needed to do SOMETHING!! Through a friend, we met Natalie. She was able to identify critical learning issues for our daughter. She observed her in the classroom, spoke with teachers, and devised an individual plan for her. Natalie suggested we test her again with an outside agency. Sure enough, our daughter had been battling a complex learning disorder all along!! Natalie even worked with the agency to get a better understanding of our child. In a few short months, we have seen a huge improvement academically and emotionally. Our child feels much more confident in her abilities. Natalie makes learning fun and even though our daughter is in middle school, she welcomes Natalie's help. I only wish we'd found her earlier! We are looking forward to 7th grade thanks to Natalie!
Parent of Diablo View 7th Grader

Both of my children have been working with Natalie Powell for about 3 months and in that short time we have seen tremendous improvement in each of their abilities. Natalie offered a thorough assessment to understand exactly what their needs are and was very informative in breaking it down for us. Natalie quickly made a connection with our kids while being engaged and making the hard work fun. She has gone above and beyond, reaching out and even meeting with teachers and aids to help structure the right support for their needs. She is a tremendous asset for our family!
Parent of a Buena Vista 4th Grader & a WCI 6th Grader

The first step in addressing a problem is properly evaluating the situation. As soon as you suspect an issue, get it promptly assessed. Unfortunately, schools are still not good enough at identifying reading disorders. Don’t waste time. I was extremely happy with my decision to seek assessment with Natalie. Her written assessment—and physical presence— have added a breadth of dyslexic specific knowledge that has been indispensable at our IEP meetings. Natalie will be an asset to your team.
East Bay mother of dyslexic twins

Natalie Powell has our highest recommendation for academic assessment (language arts) and educational therapy for dyslexia. Our daughter is a bright and articulate third grader that has struggled with reading and spelling. Natalie came recommended by our pediatrician. Natalie’s language arts assessment begins with a comprehensive record review and detailed questions for the parent/caregiver. The assessment took place at two one-and-a-half hour sessions. Natalie creates a caring, supportive, no-pressure testing environment. Our daughter really enjoyed the assessment and testing process, which is a testament to the atmosphere that Natalie creates.The language arts assessment confirmed that our daughter has dyslexia. The assessment report was fantastic: detailed, but with actionable, easy-to-understand recommendations. After the assessment, we met with Natalie to discuss the results, and develop a shared game plan for using the results to help our daughter. Following our meeting with Natalie, she joined us for a meeting with our daughter’s teachers to share the assessment, and answer questions about dyslexia. Natalie is competent, confident, and a phenomenal resource for understanding learning differences. We appreciate that in both the assessment recommendations, and in educational therapy, Natalie focuses on preserving, and enhancing, the strengths of your individual child. Natalie empowers our daughter to overcome the hurdles presented by her dyslexia and encourages her to pursue her passions (science and art). We could not be more fortunate to have Natalie on our daughter’s team!
Parent of a Palmer School Student

We are so lucky to have found Natalie! Our interaction with her began in September 2017 when she provided assessments for my 11 year old daughter. She had struggled for years with math. Even with an IEP at her public school and extra help with math she was still having issues. Natalie's testing uncovered that our daughter has Dyscalculia. Natalie has been working with our daughter for a number of months and we have seen tremendous improvements in my daughter's math skills. We are so happy and our daughter has a renewed sense of confidence that she is finally understanding math concepts. We have sat in on Natalie's tutoring sessions and she makes them fun. Not one session is the same in terms of the learning games that she uses. This has kept our daughter engaged during the sessions. Thank you Natalie!
Darcy