Identifying students feigning dyslexia: preliminary findings and strategies for detection

When conducting psychological evaluations, clinicians typically assume that individuals being evaluated are putting forth maximal effort and are not exaggerating or magnifying symptom complaints. Recent research, however, suggests that students undergoing post‐secondary‐level assessments to document...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Dyslexia (Chichester, England) England), 2008-08, Vol.14 (3), p.228-246
Main Authors: Harrison, Allyson G., Edwards, Melanie J., Parker, Kevin C. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
adults
Child
Cognitive Processes
College Students
Deception
Diagnosis, Differential
Dyslexia
Dyslexia - diagnosis
Dyslexia - psychology
Educational Measurement
effort testing
Female
Humans
Intelligence Quotient
Learning Problems
Male
Motivation
Reading Difficulties
Reading Fluency
Reading Skills
Reading Tests
Student Behavior
symptom exaggeration
symptom validity
Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
Universities
Validity
Visual Perception
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Woodcock Johnson Psycho Educational Battery
Young Adult
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Summary:When conducting psychological evaluations, clinicians typically assume that individuals being evaluated are putting forth maximal effort and are not exaggerating or magnifying symptom complaints. Recent research, however, suggests that students undergoing post‐secondary‐level assessments to document learning difficulties may not always put forth their best effort, and may even be motivated to exaggerate or magnify symptoms. This paper presents evidence indicating that symptom exaggeration in this context is not only possible, but is indistinguishable from valid symptomatology when it occurs. We argue that symptom validity assessment should be included in all higher‐education assessments for dyslexia and other specific learning disorders, and suggest some preliminary strategies for detection. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1076-9242
1099-0909
DOI:10.1002/dys.366