Work with teachers

Learn every thing that you can about your child's school. The more you know, the easier your job as a parent will be. Ask for a school handbook. This will answer many questions that will arise over the year. If your child's school doesn't have a handbook, ask questions. Ask the principal and teachers, for example:

• Any kind of special classes the school offers?
• How does the school measure student progress?
• What are the school's rules and regulations?
• Ask about specific teaching methods and materials. Are the methods based on evidence about what works best in teaching reading or math for those with learning disabilities?
• Ask if the school has a website and, if so, get the address. School websites can provide you with ready access to all kinds of information--schedules of events, names of people to contact, rules and regulations and so forth.
• Keep informed throughout the school year. If your schedule permits, attend PTA or PTO meetings. If you are unable to attend, ask that the minutes of the meetings be sent to you. Or find out if the school makes these minutes available on its website.

I have personally found doing one or more of those listed above useful in helping my son. Like others with LD, my son quite frequently forgets what he needs to bring to school, homework to be handed up, forms to be signed, schedules etc.

Long term retention

Researchers at the University of Florida at San Diego found that cramming in facts for examinations will help in long term retention of what was learned. Results of their investigations indicate that if studying is spaced out over longer duration, long term recall is facilitated. Tests conducted by them showed that those who crammed and overlearned a topic did better in the short term over others who did not. However, after several weeks, there was no visible differences.

Chunking is one technique commonly advocated by experts to facilitate studying. By breaking up materials in small chunks, it was found that students could understand and master the materials more quickly. With periodic review of what was learned, long term retention improved significantly.

As such, it does make sense to study on a regular basis rather than doing it at the very last minute before the examinations.

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

Teaching a child to read

Essentially language is made up of sounds represented by symbols called the alphabets that are stringed together to form words and sentences. So it is essential to work on the sounds of the letters and relate them to the sounds of the words. This is the foundation of reading.

For someone like my son whose attention span is short, I have to make up stories using alphabets, reading rhymes and singing songs to get him interested. Fortunately, he seemed to enjoy such 'learning' sessions. Also, such sessions enable us to develop a stronger bond.

As my son easily forgets what he have learned, I would cluster words together so that these form a pattern such it will facilitate him in recalling the words e.g. fall, ball, tall etc. I would also play word games with him so that he could make use the words he had learned recently. When we eat out or shop, I would sound out some of the words of the signages, bill boards, menu etc. I would also encourage him to do the same.

With concerted effort and patience, he has made some progress. He is been able to read and spell a little. Although his development lags behind others, I am glad that he is improving.

Helping out with Schoolwork

Tips in helping out in schoolwork:

(1) Show a keen interest
It is necessary to show a keen interest in your child's homework. For example, asking about which subject he liked most and any work that he needs to complete. Asking the child to write down the assignments given the teacher(s) in a notebook will help monitoring homework.

(2) Set a regular time frame for homework
Help your child organize homework materials before beginning. Establish a regular time with your child to do homework-developing a schedule helps avoid procrastination. Find a specific place for your child to do homework that has lots of light, quiet, and plenty of work space. Encourage your child to ask questions and search for answers, taking the time to figure out correct answers. Make sure your child backs up answers with facts and evidence.

(3) Relate schoolwork with everyday life
Relate what was covered in school to your child's everyday life. This will create an inquisitive mind to probe furhter by reading up or asking others like parents, teachers, older siblings etc for clarifications. Also, take the opportunity to read a book or newspaper and avoid switching on the television as this will distract your child.

(4) Praise
Praise your child for both the small steps and big leaps in the right direction. This will encourage the child to develop and improve further.

Dyslexia: Signs and symptoms

Dyslexia is a complex problem which is not easily detected especially pre-school children. Often symptoms become visible only when a child starts school. Some of the common symptoms are described in below by Mayo Clinic.

According to Mayo Clinic: "Children with dyslexia commonly have problems processing and understanding what they hear. They may have difficulty comprehending rapid instructions, following more than one command at a time or remembering the sequence of things. Reversals of letters (b for d) and a reversal of words (saw for was) are typical among children who have dyslexia. Reversals are also common for children age 6 and younger who don't have dyslexia. But with dyslexia, the reversals persist. Children with dyslexia may fail to see (and occasionally to hear) similarities and differences in letters and words, may not recognize the spacing that organizes letters into separate words, and may be unable to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word."

As mentioned above, even children without dyslexia may exhibit symptoms from time to time, especially those 6 years old or younger. So do not be unduly concerned and it may well worth to have those suspected with this problem to be evaluated by professionals. Early intervention will help those afflicted with this problem to better cope with the additional challenges they face at schoool which include emotional and social difficulties. They will have rough at school with other children calling them names making them retreating into their own world. Teachers who may not be aware of the difficulties faced by dyslexics may attribute their poor performance at school for not putting in effort and do their work like other children. It can be quite counter-productive.

When in doubt, check it out. In Singapore, you may contact the Dyslexic Association of Singapore (DAS) and a host of other private organisations that could offer assistance in assessing and managing dyslexia.The following are useful links:

www.disability.org.sg
www.das.org.sg
www.moe.gov.sg/esp/schadm/sec1/Ref%20I.pdf