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Embrace a Different Kind of Mind: Personal Stories of Dyslexia
Embrace a Different Kind of Mind: Personal Stories of Dyslexia
Embrace a Different Kind of Mind: Personal Stories of Dyslexia
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Embrace a Different Kind of Mind: Personal Stories of Dyslexia

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EMBRACE DYSLEXIA is an initiative by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) which endeavours to foster greater awareness about dyslexia with the aim of helping everyone to understand both the strengths and the challenges in the lives of individuals who have dyslexia.

An initiative of EMBRACE DYSLEXIA was to encourage individuals with dyslexia to share their personal stories so that they may become role models for the young students that are supported by DAS.

More than 50 personal stories of dyslexia are included in this book all are individuals who have worked to make a difference in the fabric of Singapore and wish to instill in young students with dyslexia to strive for equal if not greater success in their educational journeys

This book was released in Singapore's 50th anniversary, and contains the story of Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew a dyslexic, visionary, leader, father and builder of a Nation. Indeed, many of the contributors to the book cite Mr Lee as an inspiration to their own success, he gave them the determination and passion to pursue their dreams and passions.

It is an inspiring read and gives hope to those families who have children with learning differences such as dyslexia.
LanguageEnglish
PublishereBookIt.com
Release dateMay 12, 2016
ISBN9789810975517
Embrace a Different Kind of Mind: Personal Stories of Dyslexia

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    Embrace a Different Kind of Mind - Deborah Hewes

    2015)

    -1-

    LEE KUAN YEW

    Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister

    Visionary, Leader, Father and Builder of a Nation

    1923 - 2015

    It takes a great man to dispel prejudice. Lee Kuan Yew was a great man, and his example is a great step in the battle to fight bias against dyslexia. For Mr Lee was dyslexic too, only learning of this when he was an adult in his mid-fifties.

    His daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling, was at the time training to be a paediatric neurologist in Boston. She was sitting in on a test of a college student being tested for dyslexia when she realised she had difficulty with the words the student was being tested on.

    Returning to Singapore, she noticed that her father was making the same mistakes, and suspected that he may have dyslexia as well. So she brought in a doctor to evaluate him.

    I had complained that I could not read fast without missing important items, said Mr Lee at the time. He was given a few words and asked to spell them out. He was eventually diagnosed with mild dyslexia.

    Mr Lee revealed his condition to the world during a press conference at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore in 1996, when the then-Senior Minister announced his generous decision to donate to DAS royalties from the sale of the CD-ROM version of his book, ‘Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and his Ideas’.

    He explained that dyslexic people are as normal intellectually as non-dyslexics, but simply have trouble reading the letters of the alphabet and reproducing them correctly in a phonetic way.

    Like Mr Lee, many people with dyslexia do not get diagnosed because they do not see that they are behind their peers in reading or spelling. They assume that the extra amount of effort they put into reading is the same as everyone else. So many dyslexics work harder than others without knowing it. That was the case with Mr. Lee

    I should have come to that conclusion that something was wrong when I did a course in speed reading and I did not succeed. And it was not because I was stupid, but because I have to run my eyes back to make sure that I got the right word, so I slow down, he had said of his condition. But because I read it slowly, I read it only once and it sticks. So there are compensations.

    The important thing, said Mr Lee, is not to be discouraged and think that ‘I am disabled’.

    Citing the example of Leonardo da Vinci, who is also believed to be dyslexic, Mr Lee asked, So what? He was a great artist, sculptor, thinker. I am not comparing myself to him, but if he can overcome dyslexia, [so can others]. Fortunately, I overcame it without my knowing it. He said that it proved that it is not impossible to overcome dyslexia through hard work.

    Mr Lee’s announcement helped remove the stigma of having a learning difference and paved the way to better public awareness and acceptance of dyslexia.

    The Dyslexia Association of Singapore is grateful for Mr Lee’s unwavering support since 1996. The proceeds from the sale of his book was a great help to DAS, and he continued to contribute regularly until his passing in 2015.

    Many of the stories in this book mention Mr Lee as an inspiration to those trying to overcome dyslexia. His success gave them the impetus and determination to pursue their dreams and their passion. The Dyslexia Association of Singapore applauds the late Mr Lee, as well as our contributing authors, for their courage in proclaiming their dyslexia so that others can see that it does not hinder success in life.

    -2-

    STUART-ANDRÉ KRISTIAN AHCHAK

    Technical Engineer Student

    National Serviceman

    WIRED DIFFERENTLY… SEEING THE WORLD FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

    I learned from a very early age, around K2, that I was different from my friends. Not in sports or games, but especially in reading and writing. Although I tried very hard I just couldn’t get it. From that time until I was in Primary 5, I was very self-conscious, kept to myself and had very little confidence. Instead, I focused on the things I was good at like athletics and fixing things.

    In Primary 5, after going through several reading classes, my parents realised I was not improving. At that time in St. Michael’s Primary School, my parents with the help of the school approached an MOE psychiatrist to administer an assessment to find out if I had a learning disorder. After taking the test, it was confirmed that I had mild dyslexia.

    Instead of taking this as bad news, I was extremely relieved that I finally understood what was wrong with me. My parents were determined to help me and enrolled me in DAS straight away. The high monthly fees and numerous trips they had to make to drop me off at DAS after school did not bother them. They encouraged me and told me that I was special and that my brain was wired differently and with some help I could excel.

    I attended DAS from 2004 to 2009 and many of the teachers especially Ms Panny Poh (whom I keep in touch with) patiently helped me to learn how to read and spell.

    I went from barely being able to read one paragraph correctly to being able to write essays and complete comprehension passages in tests.

    My grades in school moved up from an average of C’s and D’s to B’s and even A’s - from a sea of red to an ocean of blue. This made a huge difference in my self-esteem and self-confidence. I was finally happy to go to school.

    From Secondary 2 onwards, at St. Gabriel’s Secondary school, I kept improving and became one of the top students in the technical stream. I received Certificates of Commendation for excellent academic performance in Technical Studies and English language in Secondary 2 and in Secondary 3 and 4 for Elements of Business Skills and English language. After the struggles I had with language in my early education, it meant a lot to me to achieve the awards especially for English language. Things were really looking up for me. I also achieved the rank of Staff sergeant in my CCA, NPCC and an EDUSAVE scholarship in Secondary 4.

    In 2010, I joined the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). It was also the year I graduated from DAS. By this time, I had greater confidence in myself and was motivated to do even better. I received a certificate of merit for my NITEC studies and managed to get a full scholarship from the Economic Development Board and Spring Singapore to pursue the Technical Engineer Diploma course based on my good academic record.

    This was a dream come true. I always wanted to be an Engineer and finally the door was open for me. In 2012 I was selected to go to Shanghai for two months on an Overseas Industrial Attachment programme. Only four students were selected and I felt very humbled to be among them. I graduated in 2014 with a Diploma in Machine Technology with Merit.

    I’m currently serving my full time National Service. With my increased confidence I have taken on more leadership roles and was selected for the section commander’s course in the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Now, as Section Commander, I am responsible for training the Rescuers under my charge and oversee the administrative and logistics matters of the platoon.

    Ten years ago, I would never have thought that I would be capable of being in a leadership position.

    During my time in ITE, I was asked by my lecturers to speak to teachers to help them work better with students who had dyslexia. As my mother said the most important thing in life is to give back and to share your experiences to help others. That is why I am always happy to speak about my journey.

    My message to the DAS students is, You’re not alone. If you put your mind to it, it gets easier with each passing day. Don’t give up. To the parents, Your child is special and able. Keep encouraging them and believing in them. Many successful people like Albert Einstein were dyslexic.

    I owe my success to several factors. Firstly, my parents’ support - they never treated me like I had a disability. Instead, even when my grades were not good, they could see the potential in me. Secondly, the skills I learnt at DAS. Lastly, my will power and determination to excel even though the challenges were very real. They still are today but I continue to persevere.

    As Singapore celebrates its Jubilee year, my wish is for the country is to be more accepting and encouraging towards people with disabilities. There is so much we, individuals with dyslexia, can do to contribute to the nation.

    -3-

    GRACE AU YONG

    Social Media and Content Specialist

    DAS Student Alumni

    Joyce Au Yong’s Sister

    I could never quite tell my left from my right, or my M’s from W’s. You will never hear these sounds from me: p, t, n, k. Huh? is probably the most common reaction I get from anyone. Because I mumble, and my thoughts are never ordered in the way that you would be familiar with.

    Being dyslexic might explain why I’m visually attracted to shapes a lot more than others. Think about it - b, p, q and ds are all the same shape rotated and flipped. To us, they are one and the same… so can everyone calm down already?

    I wear my dyslexic badge with honour. I saw it as a brilliant reason why I get to take my time in exams, or why I didn’t get to take Chinese.

    I also used my dyslexic badge as an excuse not to focus and work hard. Sure, concepts were hard to follow and difficult to grasp, but that wasn’t a reason not to work at it.

    It’s not going to be easy. It still isn’t. You might have to take a couple of extra years… but look at the world that you’re in! Thank God for the world today, and the technology – little red zigzag lines will point out when the word is spelt wrong, and searching for the word or definition is as easy as looking for it in Google. YouTube holds a wealth of education so that you can find out what the teacher is talking about in a more visual manner. (Crash Course is a brilliant place to start!)

    Will it ever leave you… Probably not. I still get distracted very easily - but this also means that I’m exposed to a lot more ideas than others normally would. I take hours crafting coherent emails, and a couple of hours more ordering my thoughts for meetings. I never can quite remember how some words are spelled, which means that I’m constantly trying out new ways of solving things. And because I see things differently this might have resulted in a lot more creative ideas and solutions.

    Lastly, there will be plenty of people out there that are like you, and there are plenty of people who will be willing to help. They might not understand what being a dyslexic is, so explain very nicely, and ask for help. Find something you love to do, and you will find the focus that you never thought you had. Till then, don’t worry, work hard and have fun.

    -4-

    JOYCE AU YONG

    Accountant

    DAS Student Alumni

    Grace Au Yong’s Sister

    I was 4 years old. The task given was simple. I had to practice writing my name, JOYCE, for 10 lines in pencil. I remember my mother laughing when I showed her my completed work. After about 5 lines, my letters became laterally inverted. To cheer me up, my mother flipped the paper and held it against the sunlight. See, Joyce, this is how a J looks like, she taught.

    I then grew up just like any other kid in a neighbourhood school. It was not until I was Primary 4 that my dyslexic tendencies manifested in ways that I could hardly cope. I struggled with both the English and Chinese language as the number of words we had to spell and understand increased exponentially. It was especially difficult for Chinese as we had to memorise the characters without the use of romanised characters (han yu pin yin).

    I also found myself often lost in walls of text and I had to re-read paragraph after paragraph to understand what the author was conveying. Thankfully my mother recognised my difficulties which were similar to my elder sister who is also a dyslexic. After a series of assessments, I was confirmed to be a dyslexic too.

    As a 10-year-old child, I did not know how to spell dyslexia, much less understand what it was. Perhaps, at the back of my mind, I thought myself to be stupid or slow of understanding. I recall vividly how my classmate took only 10 minutes to study for a Chinese spelling test and she achieved full marks while I took 2 hours and I failed the test miserably.

    I took longer time to write compositions and to meet the word count, and to read and answer comprehension questions. Eventually I was granted extra time for all written examinations and I was exempted from the Chinese subject as well, both of which I am eternally grateful for.

    I was often misunderstood as a dyslexic student. One of my Chinese teachers called me a Banana in class because I was yellow on the outside and white inside, just like how I am a Chinese who only understands English. Some of my classmates and teachers thought that I was just faking to be a dyslexic so as to get time extension for my exams. I remembered a Math teacher retained me after a Math examination to sit for the same paper in the normal allocated time just to prove her point that I do not need the extra time given.

    Of course, I do not blame any of them because 15 years ago, no one knew what dyslexia was. In fact, I was the only ‘certified’ dyslexic student and I reckoned many other dyslexics went unnoticed. However, I would be lying to say that I was unaffected by all these misunderstandings and frankly, I really felt quite demoralized about it.

    My perception of dyslexia changed one day when I was waiting for a DAS class at a new learning centre. I was attracted to the wall with pictures of famous people and right at the top, the colourful words read DAS WALL OF FAME. I was surprised to learn that Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein and even Lee Kuan Yew are fellow dyslexics as well. I did not want to be famous, I just wanted to be someone who can contribute to the society and to earn a living to support my family. It occurred to me that failing spelling tests do not mean that I will fail ultimately in life. I may be slow, but who is to say that being slow is wrong? Others may misunderstand me, but I should not misunderstand myself.

    As a dyslexic, I am different from my peers so I should not compare myself against them. This is somewhat similar to how we do not judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.

    -5-

    DR ROBIN CHAN

    Senior Associate Director,

    Human Protections Administrator, Institutional Review Board

    National University of Singapore

    Robin’s cheerful demeanour belies his lifelong struggle with dyslexia. Having recently completed his PhD thesis at 50 years old, he speaks of his difficulties in school and of challenges he faced in life.

    Life isn’t easy as a child when you were not able to spell as well as your classmates or if you had slurred speech. PhD graduate Robin Chan had both. He was an undiagnosed dyslexic who was unable to enunciate words clearly.

    At 5 years old, his mother brought him to a man who attempted to make a cut in his tongue, thinking that it was a short tongue and that his slurring could be cured that way. He mixed up words like you and I and often used the wrong choice of words, resulting in jumbled conversations with people.

    Without educational therapists or even awareness of learning differences in the past, children who were slow in learning were regarded as stupid or not trying hard enough. Why is this classmate doing so much better than me? he remembers thinking frequently. Spelling was so torturous, especially phrases like a beautiful butterfly, which resulted in him failing badly in school.

    Not surprisingly, Robin developed behavioural problems due to his bad grades in school; he did not want to go to school or complete his homework.

    Robin has an elder brother and a younger sister. His family was an average Chinese family in the 1960s, having high expectations for the male children. It was difficult for Robin as his elder brother was a high achiever, scoring well in exams while Robin was getting frequent complaints from school due to his low grades and bad behaviour. His mother was a typical tiger mom – strict, unyielding and having high expectations of her children. She was also a successful woman in her own right, owning cafes and restaurants.

    The mischievous Robin once stole money from her purse to buy chewing gum from the neighbourhood store. With every pack of chewing gum came a lucky draw. My mother would never have discovered my theft if I did not win first prize in the lucky draw. The prizes were fantastic; loads and loads of toys that we would never have been able to afford. My mother thought I stole those toys and she dragged me down to the mama shop to apologise to the shopkeeper. She also caned me so badly. It sounds like child abuse, but that was how Chinese families treated their children in the past. I can understand why my mother was so strict though; it was because I was doing badly in school, I was mischievous and naughty, Robin

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