Dyslexia
Does your child read slowly, keep making mistakes, and does reading take a lot of energy despite practicing? Then dyslexia may be involved. Below you can read what it is, how a pathway works, which assessments are involved, and what it costs.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a persistent disorder in reading and/or spelling, despite adequate education and normal intelligence. It is neurobiological in nature: the brain has more difficulty linking sounds and letters. Dyslexia has nothing to do with being "lazy" or "not smart" — with the right support, a child learns to deal with it well.
What does this mean in concrete terms? For your child, it means that reading is slow and laborious, with many errors; that spelling remains difficult (even with practiced words); and that reading takes so much energy that little motivation and sometimes fear of failure remain.
Important distinction. We do not speak of dyslexia if the reading difficulties are explained by, for example, insufficient reading instruction, a hearing or vision problem, a general developmental delay, or learning in a different home language. The key characteristic is persistence: the difficulties remain, even after extra practice.
Mogelijke signalen
Do you recognize some of these signs? That does not automatically mean there is a disorder — an intake appointment helps to explore what is going on together.
- difficulty linking letters to sounds; continues to read by spelling out letters
- slow, faltering, or guessing reading
- many spelling errors, even with familiar words
- difficulty automating sequences (days, multiplication tables, rhymes)
- reading takes a lot of energy → resistance and fear of failure
When is help useful?
- Typical support question: «My child reads much slower than classmates and keeps making mistakes.»
- Who refers: often the school or the CLB, sometimes the (family) doctor or pediatrician.
- Age: first signals often in the 1st grade; a formal diagnosis usually from the 2nd grade, when your child has already received sufficient reading instruction.
- When further assessment? When the difficulties persist despite extra support at school. That «response to support» is an important criterion.
Step by step
- 1Registrationyou / parent
You contact the practice with your question.
- 2Medical prescription for the assessmentgeneral practitioner / specialist
A medical prescription for the speech therapy evaluation.
- 3Intake & speech therapy assessmentspeech therapist + parent
Introduction, the support question, and the background. A targeted assessment is administered using standardized tests.
- 4Any external assessmentspsychologist / ENT specialist / ear doctor
E.g., an IQ test, hearing test if necessary.
- 5Analysis & conclusionspeech therapist
The results are combined to form a diagnostic picture. A report of the assessment is drawn up.
- 6Medical prescription for therapyspecialist
Have a medical prescription for the treatment signed by the specialist. The application form is sent to the health insurance fund.
- 7Decision by the medical advisorhealth insurance fund
The health insurance fund approves the reimbursement.
- 8Tailored therapyspeech therapist + child + parent
Support for your child, together with you.
- 9Evaluation & extensionspeech therapist
Monitoring of progress, and continuation or completion.
What can a result mean?
Within the norm
The performances are within the expected range for the age. Based on this test, there is no indication of a disorder in this area.
Weak score
Lower than expected for the age — a difficulty in this domain. A single low score in itself is not sufficient for a diagnosis or reimbursement.
Criterion met
The score meets the RIZIV criterion value for this test. This supports the reimbursement application. The final decision rests with the advising physician.
Contradictory picture
The results are not unambiguous. We interpret them together with the anamnesis, observations, school information, and possibly additional assessment.
The therapy
- Goals
- Reading and spelling more fluently and accurately, teaching strategies and tools, and above all restoring reading pleasure and self-confidence.
- Frequency
- Usually 1 to 2 sessions per week, within the RIZIV framework.
- Session duration
- 30 minutes or 60 minutes
- Role of the school
- Reasonable adjustments (STICORDI) and coordination with the teacher.
- Evaluation
- Periodic; extension based on progress.
What are the costs?
Dyslexia can be reimbursed under conditions via the RIZIV and your health insurance fund. In short, you need:
You only pay the patient co-payment (±€2 with increased allowance). Your health insurance fund reimburses the largest part.
The full fee, e.g. when the RIZIV conditions are not met.
- a valid medical prescription (assessment + treatment);
- a speech therapy report with reading scores below the criterion values from the RIZIV list;
- approval before the full 18th birthday;
- approval by the medical advisor of your health insurance fund.
For reimbursement, specific conditions apply regarding, among other things, the diagnosis, the assessment, the age, and the necessary medical prescriptions. We will look together whether your child meets the current RIZIV conditions and inform you in advance about the expected cost. As conventioned speech therapists, we follow the official RIZIV rates. If you are eligible for reimbursement, you only pay the patient co-payment; otherwise the full fee. The exact, annually indexed amounts and the full explanation can be found under «This is how a pathway works».
Indicative rates 2026 (30 min). You can find the exact, indexed amounts and the full explanation on the services page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a medical prescription from the doctor?
You need two medical prescriptions: one for the assessment and one for therapy — we will explain step by step during the intake appointment which documents you need.
How long does a session last and how often do we come?
An individual session lasts 30 minutes or 60 minutes. We agree on the frequency together (usually 1 or 2 times a week), tailored to you or your child.
Is therapy possible at school or at home?
In consultation, therapy at school is sometimes possible; home support is considered on a case-by-case basis.
What if my child does not (yet) have a diagnosis?
That is not necessary. During the introductory meeting and a possible assessment, we will look together at what is going on and what makes sense.
Ready for a first step?
Are you still unsure if this fits your child? Make an appointment without obligation — together we will take a calm look at it.