THANK YOU: Fatimah presents Dr Persad (centre) with a token of appreciation while Dr Ong looks on.
KUCHING: A total of 96 students have been diagnosed with dyslexia in schools across Sarawak, based on the latest statistics obtained from the State Education Department.
This was revealed by Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who pointed out that as of June 30, 2013, this figure comprised 81 primary school students and 15 secondary school students.
“Compared to the international prevalence rate of five to 15 per cent dyslexia, there must be many more students left undiagnosed,” she said.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Workshop on Dyslexia and its Co-Morbid Conditions at Teachers’ Training Institute Batu Lintang Campus (IPG) here yesterday, Fatimah said early diagnosis of children with hidden learning disabilities was imperative for early intervention.
“Research and anecdotal evidence show that the earlier the intervention, the more effective it is for the academic, emotional and mental well-being of the child.”
In view of this, Fatimah commended the Dyslexia Association of Sarawak (DAS) for continuing to push the frontiers of knowledge and understanding on learning disabilities, especially diagnosis and intervention strategies.
“The workshop – part of the Empower Partnership for Inclusive Communities Programme funded by Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State and administered by the Mobility International USA (Miusa) – marks another venture of the association to network with agencies outside the country,” she said.
Fatimah, who is also DAS advisor, noted that as part of the Empowerment Partnership Programme (EPP), DAS and SK Laksamana were selected to represent the country, working with Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Psychology Dr Carol Persad from University of Michigan Centre for Development of Language and Literacy to learn from the US model of screening, diagnosis and intervention for learning disabilities.
“DAS will be represented by its treasurer Wallace Lee, parent to a 9-year-old with learning disability while SK Laksamana by Alban Lisen, a teacher in the dyslexia programme. They will be in US for three weeks to learn about intervention programmes for dyslexic children,” she said.
EPP funds an exchange programme between US and Sarawak, and provides a small grant for the award partners to complete a project to enrich the lives of individuals with dyslexia.
The exchange programme includes a preliminary exchange visit from Dr Persad during which she visited the dyslexia and special education programmes in SK Laksamana as well as the teaching-learning programmes at the DAS Learning and Resource Centre.
Also present at the function were DAS president Dr Ong Puay Hoon, IPG Batu Lintang Campus director Awang Hambali Awang Hamdan and Dr Persad.