18 May Getur háskólanemi fengið aðlögun að síðkominni greiningu og skoðun á lesblindu?
Yes. A university student can be assessed for dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other learning differences at any point in their degree, and the resulting documentation can unlock examination accommodations including:
- aukatíma í prófum
- supervised rest breaks
- a separate room
- use of a word processor
- many other adjustments depending on the diagnostic findings
For a student at risk of failing a course or losing a place because of examination performance that does not reflect their actual ability, an assessment commissioned now can be the difference between continuing the degree and losing it.
One parent who recently contacted Global Education Testing wrote: “She is a bright girl who has been accepted into medical school and is currently in her second year. She loves the course material and has worked very hard this year. She had a rough start in her first year; failed one class and passed at a resit. She then did fairly well in her mid-semester exams but now worries that she did not do well on the short written answer component of the exam, which would mean she would be out of the course. It seems to take her longer to get through the material than her peers. Clearly she has done well enough to get in, but she struggles with exams, and I would like to make sure that she does not have some unknown issue. Her father and grandfather have dyslexia.”
This is one of the most urgent conversations Global Education Testing has with parents of university students. The student is academically capable enough to have earned a place on a competitive course, is working hard and still failing (or borderline failing) specific examination components in a pattern that does not match their potential.
Why Dyslexia and Other Learning Differences Often Go Undiagnosed Until University
A bright student with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, or any combination of these can often compensate through cognitive ability and hard work for years. This compensation typically carries the student through primary school, secondary school, A Levels or IB Diploma, and into university admission.
At university, the academic demands change in ways that often expose the underlying difficulty for the first time.
Reading volume increases. University degrees, particularly medical, law, and engineering courses, require students to read substantial volumes of dense academic text.
A student whose reading speed sits in the average range can manage secondary school workloads but may find it harder to keep pace with university reading expectations.
Written examination formats change. Short written answer components under timed conditions place specific demands on writing fluency, working memory, and processing speed.
A student who understands the material and can explain it verbally may produce written answers that fall short of the same standard within the time available.
Independent study expectations increase. Self-directed reading, revision planning, and time management across multiple subjects in parallel ask more of a student’s executive function than secondary school typically does. A student who relied on external structure at school may find self-management harder at university.
The result is a student who did well at secondary school and now performs inconsistently. Coursework and continuous assessment may be strong while timed written examinations are weaker.
The student may report taking longer than peers to get through material. This pattern, particularly alongside a family history of learning differences, is worth investigating with a comprehensive assessment.
What the Family History Tells Us
The student’s parent mentions that her father and grandfather have dyslexia. This is clinically significant. Dyslexia has a strong genetic component, with studies indicating that a child of a parent with dyslexia has a 40 to 60 per cent chance of also having dyslexia. The heritability rises further when multiple generations on the same side of the family are affected.
A family history of dyslexia in a university student who is now struggling with written examinations does not mean the student definitely has dyslexia. It does mean the assessment should explicitly examine the dyslexia profile (phonological processing, reading fluency, reading accuracy, spelling, written expression) alongside the broader clinical picture.
A comprehensive psychoeducational assessment captures both the dyslexia-specific measures and the wider cognitive, academic, attention, and emotional functioning picture that explains the full pattern of strengths and difficulties.
For a student whose dyslexia has been masked for two decades by cognitive ability, the assessment often reveals not just the dyslexia itself but the co-occurring profile (ADHD, anxiety, processing speed weakness, working memory weakness) that the compensation has been quietly managing for years.
What a Comprehensive Assessment Examines in a University Student
A alhliða sálfræðilegt námsmat in a university-aged student uses age-appropriate measures across cognitive, academic, attention, and emotional functioning. The cognitive battery uses the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) for students 18 and over, measuring verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. The academic battery uses the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III) to measure reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics functioning against adult norms.
For a student who has done well academically through to university entry, the assessment looks at the relationship between cognitive ability and academic functioning across multiple measures. A common pattern in bright students with previously undiagnosed dyslexia involves higher scores on verbal comprehension and fluid reasoning alongside lower scores on processing speed and working memory. This pattern can help explain why a student understands material well but takes longer to process it under timed conditions.
The reading and writing measures look at reading accuracy and reading fluency separately, alongside spelling and written expression. Some students show reading accuracy in the average range with reading fluency below average, which can affect performance on examinations that involve substantial reading under time pressure. Written expression under timed conditions may also fall below verbal expression, which is relevant to short written answer examination formats.
The attention measures (Conners Self-Report, MOXO Continuous Performance Test) examine attention regulation, impulsivity, and executive function. ADHD profiles can co-occur with dyslexia in students who have compensated through cognitive ability.
The emotional functioning measures (Rotter Incomplete Sentences for Adolescents) examine anxiety, mood, and self-perception, which are often relevant for students managing academic pressure alongside undiagnosed learning differences.
The integrated profile gives the family, the university learning support service, and the examination boards the clinical picture they need to plan support and process accommodations applications.
What University Examination Accommodations Are Available
University accommodations for students with documented learning differences vary by institution but typically include extra time in examinations (commonly 25 per cent, with higher percentages available where the diagnostic profile supports it), supervised rest breaks, a separate or smaller examination room, the use of a word processor, speech-to-text or text-to-speech software, modified paper formats, a reader or scribe where indicated, and permission to take medication during examinations.
For medical and other professional courses, accommodations may extend to clinical examinations (OSCEs, viva voce examinations), with adjustments such as additional preparation time, modified communication formats, or environmental adjustments.
For independent study, accommodations may include access to recorded lectures, lecture notes in advance, deadline extensions for coursework, and access to assistive technology including reading software, note-taking software, and organisational tools.
In the United States, university learning support services administer accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, with documentation requirements that the comprehensive psychoeducational assessment satisfies.
In Australia, Europe, the GCC, and other international destinations, universities operate their own learning support services with documentation requirements that our report directly addresses.
Postgraduate Examinations and Professional Practice
A student assessed during their degree is not only unlocking accommodations for the rest of the course. The same report supports postgraduate medical examinations, the MCAT for students considering US medical school applications, the USMLE for clinical practice in the United States, the PLAB for international medical graduates seeking UK registration, and equivalent regulatory processes in other jurisdictions.
For students on law, engineering, business, and other professional courses, the same logic applies. The report supports the LSAT, the GMAT, the GRE, bar examinations in multiple jurisdictions, and professional body examinations for accountancy, engineering, and other regulated professions.
A documented learning difference is not a barrier to medical or other professional practice. The General Medical Council and equivalent regulators in other jurisdictions recognise that practitioners with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences can practise safely with appropriate support in place.
Will the University Accept External Documentation Mid-Course
Yes. Universities routinely accept external psychoeducational documentation from suitably qualified assessors, and in most cases the university’s own learning support service does not produce diagnostic documentation themselves. The university works with what the student brings.
The student typically approaches the university learning support service with the comprehensive report, and the service translates the clinical findings into the specific accommodations the university can offer for examinations, coursework, and study support. The process is well established. The student does not need to disclose the diagnosis to academic staff who do not need to know; the accommodations are administered through the learning support service.
Næstu skref
This parent has the right instinct. A comprehensive psychoeducational assessment now would tell her family whether dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, or another learning difference is part of what is happening, and the resulting report would support an accommodations application at the university and travel with the student into postgraduate examinations and clinical practice.
Fjölskyldur velja Alþjóðlegt menntunarpróf because we provide immediate access to comprehensive assessments for university students worldwide. Families considering an assessment can contact us through the family referral form.
Alexander Bentley-Sutherland er forstjóri Global Education Testing, leiðandi veitandi námsþróunarprófa sem eru sérsniðin sérstaklega fyrir alþjóða- og einkaskólasamfélagið um allan heim.