Special Needs Officers Scheme

In May 2005, Ministry of Education (MOE) Singapore announced the Special Needs Officer Scheme or the SNO Scheme to provide support for students with mild to moderate Dyslexia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools and to help them integrate better with their school community. Considerable progress has been made since then.

The MOE reported that as at Sept 2007, 130 SNOs have been deployed to 103 schools (80 primary schools and 23 secondary schools). By 2010, there will be at least 140 SNOs providing support for students with dyslexia, and 96 SNOs to support students with autism. These SNOs will provide in-class support, small group specialised remedial work and skills training for students with dyslexia and autism. They complement the support that class teachers provide to these students.

In addition, MOE recognises the need to support students with other special learning difficulties, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, speech and language difficulties. Therefore, up to 10% of the teaching staff in all schools will be trained to better support students with other special needs in their respective schools. This in-service training commenced in June 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2010.

This is a piece of wonderful news. With more trained manpower, those who have learning disabilities can get help at their very own school to integrate with mainstream students. Nevertheless, where resources permit, MOE should also consider mounting publicity campaigns to create greater awareness among the parents on learning disabilities so that they are better informed to deal with such matters.

Source:Ministry of Education