QuickScan Online Dyslexia Questionnaire(14+)

The QuickScreen dyslexia screening test is available to organisations across London, the UK and internationally.

So whether you are based in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, or English-speaking countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada, please get in touch – we’d love to help.

Do you want to combat dyslexia in the workplace? Our Online Dyslexia test is ideally suited for organisations as your first step in doing this.

“We perform QuickScan upon all our first year students over two days within course confirmation; this equates to approx 800 students. We feel it is important for the correct people to run this valuable assessment so therefore support teachers and learning support assistants run the two day programme.”

Sixth Form College

An introduction to the questionnaire QuickScan – identifying dyslexia in the workplace

QuickScan is a well established dyslexia questionnaire. It was created to provide your management team with a better understanding of individual strengths as well as learning differences that could require some support.

The QuickScan dyslexia questionnaire provides a diagnostic into the way people work, their strengths and weaknesses and their favoured mode of Learning.

Whether they are an “A” student, or having difficulties, the questionnaire will help improve their self-awareness and provide an understanding for improving performance at college/university or in the workplace.

How to access the QuickScan Dyslexia Questionnaire

Please contact us to register for a free 2 month evaluation period that will include multiple tests.

QuickScan is available to install on single or multiple computers or as an online version. It is provided on an annual license basis starting from £250 plus VAT with unlimited usage.

We recommend you use a PC/laptop, Mac or large tablet to undertake your online dyslexia questionnaire (it is not suitable for mobile devices at this time).

Please get in touch if you have any questions at all and we’ll be delighted to help.

It is also possible to speak to our enquiries manager on the phone. She will either assist you directly or put you in contact with someone who can.

Please call 020 8674 9571 between 9 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday. If you leave a message – please clearly state your name and return contact details. We do our best to return your call within 24 hours.

Why choose the QuickScan Dyslexia questionnaire?

  • Undertake the questionnaire in just 10-20 minutes
  • Suitable for those aged 14+ – no upper age limit
  • Choose to use an online version or install QuickScan on your system
  • Simple to use on all desktops, laptops and larger tablets (not mobile devices at this time)
  • The candidate receives a report that provides a summary report indicating learning preferences, needs for study skills, maths or language support, indications of dyslexia and dyspraxia, along with signs of visual stress – which is useful information to have when providing support
  • Within the organisation, a detailed report is also available for tutors/supervisors via their login page or via the administration function (depending on the version you use)

“We had to ensure that the new equipment was used effectively so we asked the Dyslexia Association to train staff and started to use the software in our Education Departments. QuickScan was popular from the outset because it really was quick! It is also user friendly and no one was put off. Some of the staff found that they too had dyslexia. In some cases they had suspected this already but it was good that they had confirmation and could see why they found writing tasks difficult.”

Youth Offenders Team

What happens next?

If someone is flagged up as requiring support, they will be recommended to undertake the more detailed six-part QuickScreen Dyslexia Test. This is a highly beneficial test for employees to take when providing support for dyslexia in the workplace or for students who are looking for further support at university.

Your product choices for dyslexia in the workplace

Some organisations choose to utilise the QuickScan Dyslexia Questionnaire prior to using the QuickScreen Dyslexia Test. They use QuickScan to initially screen everyone and QuickScreen for those that have been flagged as showing some signs of dyslexia.

Other organisations decide to just offer QuickScan or the QuickScreen Dyslexia Test on its own as their ‘dyslexia in the workplace’ testing process. See the ‘Candidate Journey’ diagram on the Organisations page.

We have years of experience in providing successful online testing for dyslexia in the workplace in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada. Please read more about us.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some of our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about dyslexia testing…

Q. Is there a manual for organisations?

Organisations will be issued with a QuickScan Users Manual which explains all the features of the questionnaire.

The manual outlines each item on which QuickScan reports together with clarifications. It also provides sample candidate and tutor reports.

Furthermore, details regarding the downloadable QuickScan data sheets are provided and organisations can import these into their management information systems, or use for their own research purposes.

Q. What extra do organisations get?

Each organisation has its own Tutors page which allows QuickScan reports to be accessed once completed. A separate settings page allows the program to be customised to suit the needs of each organisation. Other customisations may be available on request.

Q. What is in a Tutors' Report?

The Tutors’ Report differs from the main report for the candidate. It contains information that the candidate would know about themselves, but the Tutor would not be likely to know, such as previous assessment status and family incidence of spelling issues.

It also contains a graphical breakdown of key diagnostic elements Writing, Reading, Spelling, Sequencing Organisation and Memory in a simple to interpret graphical form showing the level of severity of issues identified.

It further reports on laterality function (whilst left or right handedness in itself is not considered to be a relevant issue for identifying dyslexia – an ambivalence in laterality function does appear to be prevalent and our research has shown there to be a possible overlap with learning differences such as dyslexia).

Q. What happens at the end of the program?

QuickScan ends on a standard “What to do next” page, which explains what the candidate should do after completing the program. This can either be customised and hosted by us or may be a page on the organisation’s own learning support site.

Typically the candidate will see their report when the questionnaire is completed, though it can be withheld for later discussion with a tutor prior to being seen by the candidate.

Q. Is there a free trial available for organisations?

Yes QuickScan can be trialled in full to allow organisations to see how it will integrate with their current procedures and to ensure that it is the right initial screener that suits their requirements.

Q. How long does it take to complete QuickScan?

QuickScan should be completed in a single sitting and usually takes around 10-15 minutes. If it takes significantly longer than that, this may be an indication of literacy issues or speed of processing difficulties.

Neither of these issues alone is conclusive indication of dyslexia but they may well be contributing factors.

Q. What is visual stress and does QuickScan identify it?

Candidates can select the background colour that best suits them as well as the size of font before they start doing the questionnaire.

There are a number of visual issues that may affect reading fluency ( basic visual short and long sightedness need to be ruled out as a first step) but they could also be related to visual stress which is an over sensitivity to the contrast between the font colour and the background colour.

Black printed text on white paper is one of the more problematic combinations for a person with visual stress, and sometimes the use of coloured overlays or a change of screen colour on computer screens can make a huge difference. Eye strain and headaches reportedly have been reduced and reading fluency improved.

Q. What are learning modes?

We all absorb information through our senses and for people with dyslexia some of the filters through which learning is assimilated are erratic and may take longer to process incoming data.

It may well be useful to find out which learning modality you using predominantly at the present time. Since multi- sensory learning has always been accepted as the best way to acquire and retain information, then the chosen current preferred mode of learning can be seen as a starting point towards a better understanding and development of a more integrated approach.

Q. Can QuickScan identify Dyspraxia?

There is quite an overlap between dyslexia and dyspraxia and this is reflected in the questionnaire.

However, QuickScan specifically focuses on fine motor skills (i.e. handwriting skills) and since it is not an exhaustive list of dyspraxia characteristics, gross motor function is beyond the scope of this questionnaire and would need to be checked separately.

Q. Is QuickScan accepted for special arrangements?

QuickScan is not accepted on its own for exam boards or by funding bodies, but it does offer a starting point for identifying individual needs.

If there are any indicators of dyslexia, we recommend that you use the QuickScreen program to explore these further and put together relevant background information to present to your support team.

If the candidate is under 17 years of age and cannot use QuickScreen we make other recommendations. Many organisations and workplaces do, however, use QuickScan as a starting point for putting “reasonable adjustments” in place.

Q. Does Quickscan cater for partially sighted candidates?

QuickScan is designed to be accessible for partially sighted and blind users. It has full audio delivery for the questions and has keyboard operation available using the known “home” keys and the spacebar.

For institutions a version for deaf users was designed with a different structure to the grammar of the questions, enabling them to be more easily offered in British Sign Language by a local assistant. This is a custom adaptation for organisations.

Q. What data can I get from QuickScan?

Every item on the Tutors’ Page for each candidate is contained on lines in a downloadable spread sheet. This includes things like time taken to complete the sitting, font size and background colour chosen, previous assessment results and the percentage results which are shown in the graphics on the Tutors’ Page.

The full list of results on the data sheet is available in the manual.

Q. Can I import data into my management information system?

All quickScan results data is available as a downloadable comma separated values (CSV) spread sheet which is a format supported by most systems that are able to import data.

Q. What sort of research was done to produce this questionnaire?

The QuickScan questionnaire is based on thorough academic and clinical experience with dyslexic adults over some 20 years.

It became quite established as an initial dyslexia screener throughout the UK over the last two decades and it has since been upgraded into an online facility and has had other features included to widen its original scope.

This includes an introductory flag for anyone with indicators of dyspraxia ( relating to hand skills in particular) and visual problems. Speed of processing which is so essential to successful study and work outcomes is also recorded and anyone who takes longer than 20 minutes would prompt a further investigation into this area, which can be verified by taking the Quickscreen dyslexia test.

The questionnaire also encapsulates the main questions that are now found on the Adult Dyslexia Checklist ( available on the BDA website) and was incorporated into the question set at the time of the research project.

The rationale for QuickScan is fully documented in the completed PhD Thesis entitled ‘Dyslexia in Higher Education’ which is available in the online library of Leicester University or by clicking on the link below:

Dyslexia in Higher Education: An exploratory study of learning support, screening and diagnostic assessment – University of Leicester

And further explored in the publication below:

Dyslexia and Effective Learning in Secondary and Tertiary Education – Google Books

Q. What other research is available in the public domain?

QuickScan was used in a study of the incidence of dyslexia in a young offenders’ institution carried out by Jane Kirk and Gavin Reid, which identified a high incidence (50%) since replicated in other similar trials. It featured in a Channel 4 documentary as part of their 2001 Dyslexia Week series Dyslexic Criminals – Polmont Prison Documentary – YouTube

REF. An Examination of the Relationship between Dyslexia and Offending in Young People and the Implications for the Training System. Jane Kirk and Gavin Reid, University of Edinburgh, UK

Q. Learning styles were very much talked about and now seem to have been rather discredited - what is your opinion?

The whole issue appears to have been swept aside by some academics as it was clearly an over simplification of how we learn. That we would agree with, but debunking the whole concept is open to discussion. They understandably concluded that trying to base classroom teaching on individual learning styles preferences did not have the desired benefits for pupils by way of measurable improved outcomes.

We acknowledge that our method of absorbing information from around us is far more complex and multi faceted than would appear from those basic categories.

Research shows that among people with dyslexia their intake of information through the senses is not uniform and can lead to difficulties. There is a greater overlap between the modes of learning and there are further fluctuations in how we perceive and assimilate information once it has been internalized that suggest this to be quite subjective and therefore difficult to define.

The link here is a video discussion that people with dyslexia might find very illuminating as it touches on some of these complexities.

However, the main teaching approach within the dyslexia field of making information as multi-sensory as possible has a well established foundation and, in our view, an understanding of the different learning modalities offers some useful insights to the learner rather than imposing limitations. A better level of self awareness as to how we learn is a useful tool.

LATEST BLOG POSTS