All About Dyslexia

[JonC]

Where your kid go for intervention?


If both use different method of intervention, even both methods are equally good on its own, but 2 methods will confuse the child.

Get more advice from the main person giving intervention.

[cnimed]

Same question as JonC's Btw, JonC, you got a private tutor using OG method right? How long did u send your child for it?


Orchid101,
did the tutor say why he/she thinks it's dyscalculia? Does your kid have problem with basic mathematical concepts, or with symbols, or with sequencing/alignment etc? I think it's helpful to distinguish these.

[orchid10]

the same teacher that teach him english said he has dyscalculia because she tried once teaching him maths and she said he had it.


my son went to kids testing dyslexia centre. he only started early this year.

[JonC]

Teacher can only advice that your child maybe suspected of this or that or whatever, but he/she is not qualify to issue paper to prove it. Only qualify medical personnel (in the case of Dyslexia is a Psychologist) can test and issue paper to prove that your child is / is not certain condition. School / MOE normally accept this usually after EP (Educational Psycholists from MOE) endorsed it (normally no second questions asked). Schools’ Special Needs Teacher (if any) also can conduct certain test but also has to endorsed or further test by EP. Private Psychologists are usually much faster, MOE EP will take long time as the queue to take test is quite long.


I got my child tested last year September and immediately started intervention. From totally cannot read and cannot figure out things in the text till now able to read and understand a passage. Due to habit of guessing from previous disability to read, although now able to read, still at time chooses the easy guessing method when not under supervision. Just hope that this lasy /easy way out mode can be forgotten as fast as possible and able to catch up with the rest.

[cnimed]

JonC, that’s wonderful wonderful news! It’s always such a relief to see positive results and to know we are on the right track!


orchid101, are you doing intervention for maths as well? Shd ask the tutor for more information on his difficulties so that it’s easier to target each sub-areas. For my son, I realised that he has difficutlies with orientation (doesn’t know which is right or left, so how to read??), sequencing (letter-sound order is mixed up in his head), and he doesn’t see the "logic" of phonics. He is a very logical boy and if it doesn’t make sense, he can’t process. He also can’t filter out excessive noise (noisy classroom), or pick out visual clues from a cluttered page.

I didn’t send my son for intervention since I had no transport but we worked first on vision processing and spatial awareness. A lot of this work is gross motor work. Later I did use techniques and tips from books on dyslexia on how to teach reading. The results were good - from cannot read a single sentence to reading passages and basic spelling within a couple of months. All of these come together with improvement in his left-right awareness and after we had worked on a small set of trigger words for a month until he mastered them. However he still fatigues easily and his dyslexic tendencies will show up when he’s tired. So I’m not sure if this is compensation or due to vision issues. We just finished our assessment by DAS, waiting for report.

For Maths, I find that my son is good at mental maths, but can’t do it on paper. His mind goes blank. His hands need to move in order for him to think well. When starting any new concepts, we use manipulatives. After he’s familiar with it, he can do without the manipulatives, but he may still need to have something to fiddle with. I also have to explain to him why he needs to show working, and how to do it. Sequencing is a real challenge, but I think there is a developmental aspect to it as well so I leave it partly to nature since we still have time on our side.

[orchid10]

Tanks JonC & Deminc for your sharing


I cannot and dont know how to teach my son. my english is not good. im writing this coz i need help n some advice/sharing from other parent. because of this, i want him to go to school that have allied educator (last time thay call it SNO). I want the best for him. Every parent wants the best for their children right?

i dont know which school to transfer. Im afraid if i change him to new school with allied educator, will he get all the support? my experience with the current school (sorry cannot tell which school) i feel really sad coz they dont have the awareness of dyslexia. me n my hubby need to write letter, meet the principal and vp just to let them know about our son. Need to tell them the teacher what to do such as give him extra time during exam n many more. if not, they just dont care. sorry! im a bit emotional here...

That is why i join this group coz i want parent out there to share their experience which mainstream school that have this support and how is their children development. Which school in the east that can recommend me?

Thank you so much!

[cnimed]

Hi Orchid10,


I’m sorry I’m not familiar with schools in the East. All these is quite new to me as well, but I think you can get a list of schools with special officers from MOE. I believe the degree of assistance you can get will very much depend on the officer herself - much like teachers really.

In any case, the person who did the assessment for your child and the the person doing intervention (if different from the tester) should provide you with a report of test results and the implications, as well as recommendations for school/teachers which you can present to the school at the start of the year and during meetings with school.

It’s normal and understandable for you to be upset. I also felt very agitated in the past because I felt the schools and the teachers don’t care about my son and his difficulties. But as I learn and understand more, I came to see that really, laymen just won’t understand or know what to do. Only other parents in similar situation and therapists with experience can give you useful guidance. At the beginning of the year when my son still couldn’t read, his K2 teacher told me flat out that she doesn’t know how to help dyslexic children; but as long as she doesn’t penalise him for something he can’t help, I"m satisfied.

I understand that you prefer to get a professional to help him. But if you decide to consider it in future, the NLB actually has many useful books on how to help children with reading difficulties. Many of them are idiot-proof. I just borrow and photocopy the exercises and do them with my son everyday. The important thing is consistency while being flexible regarding what will work for your particular child. As long as the description of the book fits my child, I will borrow it and give it a try. I have since learnt that there are sub-types of dyslexia, each related to a different aspect in processing sound or language or interpreting visual cues, and if you can see how that contributes to your child’s situation and work on that area, you can see steady progress.

[orchid10]

Thank you so much Deminc for the sharing. Really appreciate it.

[cnimed]

You're most welcomed! Don't worry you'll figure out something! We went from psychologist to OT to eye center to dyslexic resources, now going back to vision. All these play a part in his reading and writing abilities. Some target the symptons, others target the fundamental issues. The main thing is to get on the right track. The DAS testing shows he is now an above average reader :shock: , but they still offered him a place for preschool remediation based on the fact that he had improved AFTER I used the dyslexic materials with him. However I do not think their materials will be targeting his fundamental difficulties; instead I will be doing Ron Davis symbol mastery with him myself as well as running through the trigger words with him.


Best of luck with the schools! My turn in August (P1 registration)!

[Blobbi]

[Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/mislabeled-child.]


Orchid10 and Deminc, have you guys read http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/mislabeled-child?

It's the best book I've read on learning differences, how to identify them, and the steps to take to help. Psychs and other experts are great, but you also need an idea of how to help since the parent is in the best position to do so (we're on call 24X7!)

The book has chapters on the various issues, eg, CAPD, dyslexia, dysgraphia etc that can sometimes be seen as ADHD since the child has poor input and so cannot focus. Ultimately, the authors give you strategies on how best to strengthen parts of the memory (and there are so many types!) to overcome the various issues. It's truly worth a read. I don't know if they have it in the library but I saw 2 copies at Kinokuniya.

Good luck!