Successful men and women have learning disabilities too

Being diagnosed as having some form of learning disability can be disheartening. But people with LD are anything but born losers. Quite a number became very successful in their careers of their choice. For example, did you know that Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was nine? Yet this great man developed the theory of relativity that invalidated some of the physical laws discovered by another great scientist Isaac Newton.

Some of the great leaders have trouble reading all their lives. Yet not only did they overcome their disability but they went on to do great things for their nations. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom had dyslexia so was the Vice President of the United States of America Nelson Rockfeller and yet they provide excellent leadership to these two great nations. The famous military leader General George Patton had reading problem as well but this did not deter him from becoming one of the most prominent military personality of his time.

Business leaders have a fair share of dyslexics too. Walt Disney and Charles Schwab are examples of people with learning abilities that built up large corporations to support the lives of hundreds if not thousands of their employees.

Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise all have the common defect in reading. It was said that Tom Cruise learned his lines by getting someone to read the script to him and he memorise them- no mean feat. He must have a supersized memory.

The most intriguing example of LD suffers made good is Hans Christian Anderson, a famous creator of fairy tales. It was said that Christian Anderson had both dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The irony is that she ended up as a writer and able to weave fantastic tales for children all over the world. Nothing short of a miracle.

The bottom line is that being diagnosed with LD is not a life sentence to misery nor will a person with LD be condemned as abnormal with a doomed future. All is not lost. With self-determination and the belief that one has the strength to overcome the symptoms of LD and excel, the sky will the limit.

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