Dyslexia Preschool Screening via Parent Screener


Introduction

The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) is a screening tool designed to measure risk of reading disability (i.e. dyslexia) in adults (Lefly & Pennington, 2000), but it can also help measure risk in children, especially before school age. Reading disability is highly heritable: about 30-60% percent of children born to a dyslexic parent will develop dyslexia. Thus, one way to estimate risk of reading disability in preschool children is to evaluate parents’ own reading history. The following questionnaire was developed using parents’ reports of their own reading history as well as actual testing of their children’s reading skills. If a parent scores high on the ARHQ, their child has a higher risk of developing a reading disability. It is important to note that the ARHQ is only a screener and does not constitute a formal evaluation or diagnosis of either the parent or the child. If you have concerns about your child’s reading progress, we recommend that you contact your child’s school, a licensed child psychologist, or your child’s primary care physician about pursuing a more thorough evaluation to investigate the nature of these concerns.

Are you the Mother or Father? Father   Mother
  Loved School; Favorite Activity       Hated School; Tried to get out of going
1. Which of the following most nearly describes your attitude toward school when you were a child
  None       A great deal
2. How much difficulty did you have learning to read in elementary school?
  No help Help from friends Help from teachers/ parents Tutors or special class 1 year Tutor or special class 2+ years
3. How much extra help did you need when learning to read in elementary school?
  No       A great deal
4. Did you ever reverse the order of letters or numbers when you were a child?
5. Did you have difficulty learning letter and/or color names when you were a child?
  Above Average   Average   Below Average
6. How would you compare your reading skill to that of others in your elementary classes?
  Not at all Less than most About the same More than most Much More than most
7. All students struggle from time to time in school. Compared to others in your classes, how much did you struggle to complete your work?
  No; enjoyed and did well   Some   A great deal; did poorly
8. Did you experience difficulty in high school or college English classes?
  Very positive       Very negative
9. What is your current attitude toward reading?
  Above Average   Average   Below Average
10. How would you compare your current reading speed to that of others of the same age and education?
  A Great deal   Some   None
11. How much reading do you do in conjunction with your work (if retired or not working, how much did you read when you were working?)
  Above Average   Average   Below Average
13. How would you compare your current spelling to that of others of the same age and education?
  None   Some   A great deal
12. How much difficulty did you have learning to spell in elementary school?
  No Talked about it, but didn’t do it Repeated 1 grade Repeated 2 grades dropped out
14. Did your parents ever consider having you repeat any grades in school due to academic failure (not illness)?
  No       A great Deal
15. Do you ever have difficulty remembering people’s names or names of places
16. Do you have difficulty remembering addresses, phone numbers, or dates?
17. Do you have difficulty remembering complex verbal instructions?
18. Do you currently reverse the order of letters or numbers when you read or write?

Scoring Instructions

1. Add up the circled numbers and record that as the Total Score.
2. If the respondent is FATHER, the following cutoffs apply:

Total Score <21 = Minimal Risk
Total Score 21-26 = Moderate Risk
Total Score >26 = Significant Risk

3. If the respondent is MOTHER, the following cutoffs apply:

Total Score <14 = Minimal Risk
Total Score 14-19 = Moderate Risk
Total Score >19 = Significant Risk

Click here for more information about your scores.