Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 11 of 25.
This week: Auditory Memory
Auditory memory stores what we hear: instructions, dictated sentences, the sound of words. A child with underdeveloped auditory memory loses parts of a dictation on the way to the paper, forgets multi-step instructions, and struggles to hold new vocabulary. This has nothing to do with effort or intelligence. The standardized AFS-Test measures auditory memory precisely, so that training can strengthen exactly this storage system with daily, playful exercises.
About the AFS-Test
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Reading Made Easier. Structured Strategies for Dyslexic Children
For many dyslexic children, reading feels like a locked door: decoding each symbol takes so much effort that guessing and skipping become habits. The good news is that accurate reading can be taught. The Easy Reading Method slows the process down just enough for the brain to receive clear, error-free input, and combined with multisensory, structured phonics it takes students from hesitant decoding to confident, meaningful reading.
What this lesson is about
Reading is often described as the gateway to learning, but for many dyslexic children, it feels more like a locked door. While most students gradually build effortless connections between letters and sounds, dyslexic learners must expend far more effort decoding each symbol. This extra work often causes them to guess, skip, or misread words, which then weakens both comprehension and spelling.
Anyone who reads well and who understands what has been read automatically learns the rules of correct spelling. Precise, accurate reading is a prerequisite for writing and learning.
What you will learn in Lesson 14
Why decoding overloads dyslexic readers
The Easy Reading Method and the Easy Reading Card
Combining it with multisensory, structured phonics
Accuracy first, then fluency and comprehension
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 10 of 25.
This week: Auditory Recognition
Auditory recognition lets a child pick the important sound out of everything they hear, and tell similar sounds apart: d and t, g and k, m and n. If these distinctions are not reliable, spelling by sound becomes a guessing game. The standardized AFS-Test checks auditory recognition with listening exercises that show whether the child truly hears the difference between similar sounds. Where it is needed, targeted hearing exercises build this foundation before spelling rules can do their work.
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Symptom Training in Language Arts. Letters, Words, and Real-World Use
Symptom training is the moment when preparation becomes performance: after attention and perception have been strengthened, we practice the actual skills of school. Letters, words, spelling, handwriting, reading, and short writing are worked through tight, repeatable cycles: model, guided practice, independent try, quick check. Often one word or one pattern per session, using all channels, so gains are accurate first and then fluent enough to transfer into daily classwork.
Symptom training is the “now we do it” phase of the AFS Method: after Attention and Function (perception) prepare the ground, we practice the actual skills, letters, words, spelling, handwriting, reading, and short writing. Using all channels (see–hear–say–write–mean), we target one concrete focus at a time, often one word or one pattern per session, and work it through a tight cycle: model → guided practice → independent try → quick check. Students highlight the tricky bit, tap and say sounds while writing, apply the rule or pattern, and use the word in a sentence; short reading aloud and micro-dictations reinforce accuracy. We track accuracy first, then fluency, so gains stick and transfer to classroom work, with parents easily joining in for brief daily practice.
Trainer note: Offer all six channels and encourage learners to combine them. Over time, each student discovers which mix is most effective, our goal is flexible, independent strategy use.
What you will learn in Lesson 13
The practice cycle: model, guided practice, independent try, quick check
Why one word or one pattern per session works
Using all learning channels: see, hear, say, write, mean
Getting gains to transfer into daily classwork
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
For a limited time, the Certified Dyslexia Trainer Program is 50% off. The program is accredited by us, the American Dyslexia Association (ADA), and built on the structured, multisensory AFS approach that helps teachers and homeschooling parents support learners with dyslexia.
What you get
48 self-paced lessons that take you from the standardized AFS-Test for assessment all the way to the individualized training plan, with ready-to-use materials included. You finish with a certificate and everything you need to actually work with dyslexic learners.
Why the program is trusted
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
This October only
The 50% offer is limited to the first 50 sign-ups this October, or through October 31, whichever comes first. You can start free with Lesson 1, no credit card needed.
Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 9 of 25.
This week: Visual Sequencing
Visual sequencing keeps things in order: the sequence of letters in a word, of digits in a number, of words in a line. When it is underdeveloped, letters swap places and ‘was’ becomes ‘saw’. The child is not careless: their processing of order is simply different. The standardized AFS-Test checks visual sequencing with exercises where order is everything. Once the cause is identified and categorized, sequencing can be trained systematically, and reading becomes noticeably more stable.
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Training Tools and Resources. Trainer-Parent Toolkit
Weekly sessions set direction and quality, but short, consistent home practice is what consolidates skills. This lesson curates trainer-vetted tools and resources, shows how to hand them to families in a simple, achievable routine of about 20 minutes a day, and explains how each tool maps to the AFS framework. Small daily wins, added up, become measurable progress.
What this lesson is about
Effective dyslexia/dyscalculia support is a team effort. Weekly sessions with a certified trainer set direction and quality; short, consistent home practice consolidates skills and accelerates growth. The trainer’s job is to make home practice simple, specific, and achievable, about 20 minutes daily (and even 5–10 minutes consistently is a solid start).
This lesson curates trainer-vetted tools and resources, shows how to deploy them with families, and explains how each maps to the AFS framework. With the right tools and a clear routine, families can turn small wins into steady, measurable progress.
Effective support is a team effort. Alongside the certified trainer’s weekly sessions (typically once or twice a week), progress accelerates when parents provide short, consistent home practice. The trainer equips parents with clear, parent-friendly instructions for daily practice, so the child reinforces exactly what was targeted in sessions. Parents should aim for about 20 minutes of daily home practice; even 5–10 minutes done consistently is a solid start.
What you will learn in Lesson 12
Building a simple, achievable 20-minute home routine
Trainer-vetted tools and resources for families
How each tool maps to the AFS framework
Turning small daily wins into measurable progress
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 8 of 25.
This week: Visual Memory
Visual memory stores what we have seen: the image of a word, the shape of a letter, the look of a number. Spelling depends on it heavily, because writers constantly compare what they write against the stored images of words. A child with underdeveloped visual memory can read a word ten times and still write it differently the eleventh time. The standardized AFS-Test measures visual memory with matching exercises, and the result shows exactly whether this storage system needs targeted training.
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Sensory Perception Training. Visual, Auditory, and Spatial Foundations for Literacy and Numeracy
Reading, writing, and arithmetic depend on a network of sensory processes working together. When one of them is underdeveloped, the brain compensates, and that shows up as slow processing, fatigue, and avoidable errors. Function training strengthens recognition, memory, and sequencing in the visual, auditory, and spatial domains, preparing the brain to handle academic tasks more efficiently. This lesson covers every function area with practical examples and selection guidance.
What this lesson is about
Function training does not replace instruction in reading, writing, spelling, or math; it prepares the brain to handle those tasks more efficiently. As functions improve, students more readily recognize symbols, maintain order in words and numbers, follow instructions, and integrate information across senses. This lesson outlines each function area, shows how to implement function training for school-age learners (and why we limit preschool to F only), and gives practical examples and selection guidance for trainers.
Key Takeaway: Function training prepares the brain to handle academic tasks more efficiently by strengthening the sensory foundations of learning.
What you will learn in Lesson 11
The visual, auditory, and spatial function areas
Strengthening recognition, memory, and sequencing
Why preschoolers train functions only
How to select the right exercises for each profile
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
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