Estudos de Psicologia I Campinas I 32(3) I 383-393 I julho -setembro 2015 AbstractThis article aims to present the process of construction of a screening test to assess signs of dyslexia. Two phases were performed: (a) identifying scientific productions and national and international instruments on the assessment of dyslexia and selection of the most frequently evaluated cognitive-linguistic skills; (b) construction of a draft and analysis by specialist judges. From these phases the "Identifying Signs of Dyslexia Test" instrument was prepared, designed for children aged 8-11 years, and composed of the assessment of eight skills: reading, writing, visual attention, calculation, motor skills, phonological awareness, rapid naming, and immediate memory. Future studies are needed to verify the validity and reliability evidence of the instrument.Keywords: Dyslexia; Neuropsychology; Psychological assessment. Resumo

The objective of this study was to characterize the children referred to the Neuro-Learning Disorder Clinic at the Public Hospital of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (State University of Campinas) in 2010 focusing on the demographics, parents' concerns, and the diagnoses given by the health care professionals. A total of 203 male and female children and young people, aged 4-17 years old, attending kindergarten to high school were analyzed. The children that were referred due to school-related problems underwent interdisciplinary evaluations aiming to establish a diagnosis. After thorough evaluation, the children were treated according to their specific needs. The study sample was predominately comprised of males (67.0%), fifth graders with average age of 10 years and 11 months. The main problems identified were global learning difficulties and inattention. The evaluation results indicated 43.8% of pedagogy-related learning difficulties and 32.2% of intellectual disability issues. The findings corroborate those of other studies on the characterization of behavior and school-related problems of children and adolescents in specialized centers. The results obtained emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary team work to evaluate school-related problems.

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