By Dyslexia Test Centre ·
We’re pleased to share our conversation with Kieran Devlin for Customer Experience Magazine’s CX Champions series. Our co-founders, Helen Walker and Jeanette Butterworth, discuss how their experience in teaching and within their own families helped shape DTC and ND Pathways.
Watch the 16-minute interview below to hear about the thinking behind our approach.
The questions behind the conversation
This written companion is adapted from Helen and Jeanette’s prepared interview answers. It is an edited summary, rather than a verbatim transcript of the video.
1. Why did we establish DTC and ND Pathways?
Our starting point was personal. As mothers and teachers with lived experience of neurodiversity, we understood how difficult it could be to find answers and suitable support. We had seen families passed between services, unsure which assessment they needed or what to do next.
DTC began with specialist dyslexia assessments. ND Pathways grew from recognising that people often need help making sense of a wider picture. We wanted a service where people felt listened to and had guidance along the way.
2. What should a good assessment experience feel like?
It starts with listening, especially when someone arrives feeling anxious or unsure whether their concerns will be taken seriously. Clear explanations help people understand their options, prepare for an assessment and make sense of the outcome.
Our aim is for people to understand their strengths, their difficulties and the next steps available to them.
3. What are we most proud of?
Keeping the service personal as it grows. The feedback that matters most to us is hearing that someone felt listened to, reassured and understood. Helping someone see their experiences in a different light can be a meaningful part of the assessment journey.
4. Why does support continue after the report?
A diagnosis can bring relief, followed by a very practical question: what happens now? Recommendations can feel overwhelming when someone is unsure where to begin.
Our prepared answers describe how this feedback helped shape ND Pathways and aftercare: support to understand results, choose priorities and turn recommendations into practical next steps. Explore aftercare and ongoing support.
5. Where can technology help?
Clearer questionnaires and simpler processes can make services easier to use. Our view is that technology and AI should support specialists, with responsible use and professional oversight.
Assessment involves professional judgement, observation and understanding someone’s history and experiences. Technology should create more time for that human connection.
6. What do individuals and families want from services?
In our experience, people increasingly want help understanding their whole profile, including strengths and areas of difficulty. They also want clear guidance before committing time and money to an assessment.
7. What would we tell other service leaders?
Listen when people say something feels confusing or difficult. Look at the service through the eyes of someone using it for the first time, and be willing to make changes.
For us, trust, empathy and human connection remain central to how a service should feel.
Meet Helen and Jeanette or book a free 15-minute conversation to discuss where to start.
Video: Customer Experience Magazine, published 14 September 2026. Written companion adapted from DTC’s interview preparation notes. Watch the original interview on YouTube.
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