As part of the club’s ongoing effort to do its part for the community it lives in and serves, the Lion City Sailors joined hands with the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) to devote an entire matchday to promote awareness of the cause. DAS volunteers set up display stations featuring art pieces designed by DAS students, games, and other merchandise booths for the spectators to take part and learn about dyslexia. 

Photo : Dyslexia Association of Singapore
Photo : Dyslexia Association of Singapore

DAS student volunteer groups from various schools, such as Hwa Chong Institution and St.Joseph Institution, were present to raise funds and spread awareness of dyslexia. One such volunteer group was ‘Project Guardians,’ which comprised students from Hwa Chong Institution. When asked about what spurred them to start this volunteer group, Jenelle Kan, a member of ‘Project Guardians’, had a concrete answer:

Initially, we all did peer tutoring for children from low-income families, and we realised that many of these children have dyslexia. After working with these children with dyslexia, we wanted to help them by raising funds so that they could get proper treatment. Hence, we started our project called ‘Project Guardian’ to help kids with dyslexia,” she said.

The volunteer group focuses on raising funds for DAS and spreading awareness of dyslexia. In addition, the group uses social media to educate their peers about the needs of children with dyslexia and to motivate them to play a role in the cause.

We also organise events such as Arts day or Sports day for them. One such key event is Arts day, where we let the DAS students engage in different art forms and print their designs on bags. We then sell this merchandise, and the proceeds go back to DAS. Generally, our goal is to organise activities to raise funds and awareness of dyslexia,” added Jenelle.

Photo : Dyslexia Association of Singapore
Photo : Dyslexia Association of Singapore

 

Selected DAS students escorted the Sailors players onto the pitch at Jalan Besar Stadium and served as ushers at the venue.

Photo : <strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/07/18/1117280-i-dont-know-why-he-turned-it-away-as-geylang-held-sailors-to-a-draw.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/07/18/1117280-i-dont-know-why-he-turned-it-away-as-geylang-held-sailors-to-a-draw.html'>Lion City Sailors</a></strong> Football Club
Photo : Lion City Sailors Football Club

 

A total of $25,500 was raised for DAS through tickets issued ahead of kickoff, with Tampines Rovers getting on board the worthy cause as club Chairman Desmond Ong presented a cheque of $5,000 to DAS. 

Photo : <strong><a  data-cke-saved-href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/06/22/1115167-we-need-to-cut-down-on-the-mistakesakbar-nawas-shares-his-thoughts-after-his-side-lost-to-the-sailors.html' href='https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/06/22/1115167-we-need-to-cut-down-on-the-mistakesakbar-nawas-shares-his-thoughts-after-his-side-lost-to-the-sailors.html'>Lion City Sailors</a></strong> Football Club
Photo : Lion City Sailors Football Club

 

Delighted to be partnering with DAS to help raise awareness of dyslexia and do their part for a more significant cause, Sailors CEO Chew Chun-Liang stated that he is confident that the local football fraternity will embrace dyslexia. 

Anything not just in Football, it can be any other sports events or even non-sports events, as long as you do an event and incorporate some element of the cause into the event, you will help to raise awareness of conditions like dyslexia,” said Mr. Chew, in an interview with VAVEL.

In fact, for this match, when I told Desmond Ong, the chairman of Tampines Rovers, about today’s cause, he congratulated us and extended his support by contributing five thousand dollars. It is amazing, and people from the football community have the heart to serve the community and help the less fortunate of our society,” he added.

  • What is dyslexia?

According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. The brains of those with dyslexia work differently, and some of the most brilliant minds in history had dyslexia, including Alexander Graham Bell, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and many others. Hence, people with dyslexia have every capacity to be brilliant and successful in life.

The brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is generally in charge of language and ultimately reading, while the right typically handles spatial activities. fMRI (Functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies have found that the brains of those with dyslexia rely more on the right hemisphere and frontal lobe than the brains of those without it. This means that when a person with dyslexia reads a word, it takes a more extended trip through their brain and can get delayed in the frontal lobe. Because of this neurobiological glitch, people with dyslexia read with more difficulty. 

Difficulties with phonological awareness, verbal memory, and processing speed are common in children with dyslexia.

There is no cure for dyslexia, and individuals with this condition must learn coping strategies. Furthermore, research indicates that dyslexia has no relationship to intelligence. Individuals with dyslexia are neither more nor less intelligent than the general population. 

When talking with Singaporean parents, the conversation naturally concerns the importance of education. Education can be deemed the bedrock of our society, impacting how learning difficulties like dyslexia are viewed in Singapore. Today, up to 10% of Singaporeans have dyslexia, and an estimated 23,000 local students from preschool to secondary schools in Singapore have dyslexia severe enough to warrant intervention. 

Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) is today a vibrant social service organisation with over 250 full-time staff who provide a wide array of services for individuals with dyslexia in Singapore.

It provides a full range of services to help people with dyslexia and comprises a multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, speech & language therapists, and educational therapists. This group integrates with the team of lecturers, marketing, and operations teams to educate professionals, teachers, and parents on dyslexia and how to support a child with dyslexia. This approach ensures that the physical, social, psychological, emotional, and even financial needs of the DAS students are looked after.

  • Importance of early dyslexia diagnosis and intervention

An early diagnosis is critical due to the profound impact that undiagnosed dyslexia can have on early development and education. In mainstream Singaporean schools, learning a subject requires high proficiency in reading and writing. But without early learning interventions, children with dyslexia are at a disadvantage.  For instance, by primary 3, children with undiagnosed dyslexia know 10,000 fewer words than their peers. 

According to a study by the University College London on pupils from Singapore, the pressures of having to catch up and keep up with their peers can lead to various social and emotional difficulties, including depression and anxiety, for children with unidentified dyslexia.  Children with reading difficulties who are not identified and provided with intervention generally have lower self-esteem and often experience challenges with emotional adjustments later in life.


Mr. Lee Siang, Chief Executive Officer of DAS, noted the importance of early intervention and explained what parents could do if they suspect their child has dyslexia. 

The first simple step is to do a screening. At DAS, we have a computerised screening test that takes about twenty minutes, and results are available almost immediately. They are then summarised in a simple print-out which indicates the probability of the child having dyslexia. It is complimentary for students in primary school. Screening tests will only provide a risk of dyslexia. Further investigation via a full psychological assessment will be the next step before a qualified psychologist can make a diagnosis,” declares Mr. Lee Siang in an exclusive interview with VAVEL.

A psycho-educational assessment evaluates an individual's cognitive abilities, academic skills, and behaviours to determine their areas of strengths and weaknesses. Such reviews can ascertain if an individual has a learning or neurodevelopmental difficulty and identify areas of learning needs.

At the DAS, we have a range of programmes. We have the main literacy programme in English. We have a Chinese language programme, a Maths programme, a Science programme, a Speech and language therapy programme, and many more. This shows that the challenges for a person with dyslexia are multifaceted. Hence, we need various programmes to respond to the different difficulties. The Ministry of Education supports the main literacy programme; the fee is about $25 per hour after MOE’s initial funding. But for parents who are not so well off, they will qualify for additional bursaries,” he said.

Annually, DAS needs to raise over S$2 million each year to provide bursaries for its lower-income students to gain access to the treatment they need to be successful in learning. 

About 15 to 20 percent of our students come to us for free to attend the main literacy programme and other programmes. Unfortunately, the other programmes, such as Maths, Science, and others, are not funded by the ministry of education, but we do get donations. For example, donations from today’s activity will go towards the programmes not funded by MOE,” added Mr. Lee Siang.

Although there is increased awareness about dyslexia among the general public, there is still fear in some quarters that people from under-privileged families might not possess sufficient knowledge about dyslexia and its effects.

Mr. Lee Siang confirmed that raising awareness is the key to combating this problem.

Before Covid, in 2019, we conducted one hundred awareness talks in various schools from pre-school level to the secondary school level, in self-help group agencies such as CDAC, MENDAKI, and SINDA. Even during the pandemic, we managed to conduct about eighty talks, although most of it was online. So we will continue to do this, and hopefully, we can raise some awareness amongst the football fans that have come here today. So besides going away with a good football match, they will also go back with some new information on dyslexia,” explained Mr. Lee Siang.

He wished DAS would have a stable and continuous relationship with Lion City Sailors Football Club.

If we can do this yearly, that would be wonderful! ” he said.  

Moreover, he hoped that some dyslexic children at the Lion City Sailors game would find football an area of interest and excel at it.

Someone with dyslexia will have difficulties with the reading aspect. But they may be excellent in something else. We know of famous sports personalities who are dyslexic but are outstanding in their professional fields. Magic Johnson, Lewis Hamilton, and Muhammad Ali, to name a few. So we want to help our people with dyslexia by finding their area of talent so they can develop them. There are about a hundred families with dyslexic children in today’s game. I hope some of these children like the atmosphere, like football, and perhaps take football seriously. Maybe, we might even have a future Fandi Ahmad!” said Mr. Lee Siang.

It is not just about raising awareness; it is also about inspiring the kids,” added Sailors CEO Chew Chun-Liang.

The signs of dyslexia in adults often mimic the symptoms of dyslexia in children. Though it’s typically diagnosed in childhood, symptoms can go unrecognised until later in life and extend well beyond letter mixups. There are some students whose learning challenges only become apparent when they embark on their tertiary education. However, adults typically have a more robust toolbox of tactics to cope with those challenges. Mr. Lee Siang noted that dyslexic adults could get treatment despite not being treated during childhood.

In 2018, thirteen adults, including tertiary students, came to DAS looking for assistance. Last year, in 2021, 24 adults came to us. So there is almost a double in the number; hence with greater awareness, we are seeing more and more adults coming to the DAS to seek assistance,” said Mr. Lee Siang.

Mr. Lee Siang also mentioned that Singapore is doing better than most countries in supporting people with dyslexia.

Today, all primary schools have Dyslexia Remediation Programmes, and there is also an increase in the number of educators who specialise in dyslexia. So, we have come a long way, and compared to other countries, I think we are doing very well.”

Sailors CEO Chew Chun-Liang added that the club is actively partnering with other organisations that cater to children with neurobiological disorders such as ADHD.

We did a partnership with the Society for the Promotion of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Research & Knowledge (SPARK) in June. We ran a football clinic containing three sessions for children with ADHD, and we invited them to our match against Albirex on 24 June,” he said.

When I was at the clinic, the parents of the children talked to me about how the acceptance and awareness of such issues are very low. Some parents even quit their jobs to spend time with their children with learning difficulties,” revealed Mr. Chew.

Mr. Chew also mentioned that the club plans to open football clinics for children with learning difficulties.

We are looking to start a football clinic called the Football Friendship Fun. Kids with learning difficulties can come together and do things together. We have talked to SPARK and other organisations about this too,” he said.

Mr. Chew said: “ For us Sailors, it is not just about football and the results; it is also about serving the community and doing our part to make lives better for the people around us in Singapore.”

 

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