One more centre to help children with dyslexia

SINGAPORE - A chat at a wedding dinner was all it took to get funds to build a centre to help children with dyslexia, a learning disorder that holds them back at school.

Mr Rajesh Malkani, head of Standard Chartered's private banking for South-east and North-east Asia, wrote out a cheque for $300,000 for building and furnishing the new centre in Choa Chu Kang.

This is the 13th such centre set up by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS), and the first supported by an individual donor.

At its official launch by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday, Mr Malkani explained his generous donation.

"My mother taught me at a young age that it is important to give back to society," he said.

Mr Lee Siang, chief operating officer of the DAS Group, said international figures show that one in 10 people is dyslexic, with 4 per cent of the population suffering from severe dyslexia.

The 13 centres run by DAS, with funding from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and from well-wishers, have an enrolment of more than 2,600 children.

That represents only 13 per cent of the 20,000 primary and secondary school cohort with severe dyslexia.

Without early help to overcome their problem with reading, writing and comprehension, many end up in the Institute of Technical Education, or in schools for those who fail PSLE, such as NorthLight School, said Mr Lee.

But children from DAS centres are generally able to do well in mainstream schools. They attend training outside of school hours, as the centres around the island open after school till about 9pm, as well as on weekends.

Gerald Chia, now in Secondary 2 in an Express stream school, was in the top 10 per cent of his cohort last year.His mother, Madam May Ng, 39, noticed Gerald was working very hard but his teacher told her he was not putting in any effort. She felt there was something wrong and took him to the polyclinic.

She was directed to the DAS where she discovered her son was dyslexic. With two hours of training a week at the centre, he has been able to keep up with his classmates and scored 202 in the PSLE.

When Madam Ng's younger son, Jerry, went to school, she noticed he was struggling the same way as his older brother. Now, Jerry is getting help at a DAS centre as well.

Mr Lee said there is a strong hereditary influence, with about 70 per cent of dyslexics coming from families where there is at least another member with the problem.

The MOE has help for those suffering from dyslexia in 62 primary schools for Primary 3 and 4 pupils. But Dr Jimmy Daruwalla, president of DAS, said: "Research suggests that intervention is much more effective for children at a younger age."

This is why the DAS is expanding its pre-school programme.

The centre at Choa Chu Kang, which can take in 350 to 400 children, is the second to be opened this year. The other one is at Yishun, which can accommodate 150 to 200 children. The centres have lessons for literacy, maths, Chinese, and speech and language therapy. It is manpower intensive, with only four children per class. There are more than 120 trained teachers, all graduates with a good command of English, to help the children overcome their handicap.

Those who can afford to, pay $25 an hour. There are bursaries for those who need financial help.

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