Foundation pledges $175,000 to help children with dyslexia

Two of Madam Zaida Hashim's four children have been diagnosed with dyslexia, and her youngest child, who is only five years old, has experienced mild speech delay.

However, programmes provided by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) have aided them in their learning journey.

Yesterday, DAS received $175,000 from one of its supporters, the Ishk Tolaram Foundation, at a cheque presentation in Rex Learning Centre in Bukit Timah.

The Singapore-based foundation develops and supports programmes that provide access to quality education, healthcare and skills training to underprivileged individuals in Indonesia, Nigeria and Singapore.

Madam Zaida's dyslexic daughter, nine, and son, 10, have both been attending DAS' Main Literacy Programme (MLP) since 2019. The twice-weekly programme provides a comprehensive curriculum that supports primary and secondary school students facing literacy challenges. MLP students receive separate funding from the Ministry of Education.

Upon seeing improvement in her daughter and son, Madam Zaida, 45, enrolled her youngest child in the Preschool Early Literacy Programme (Pelp), which provides early intervention for pre-schoolers with literacy weaknesses or who are at risk of dyslexia.

He is also one of the beneficiaries of the Ishk Tolaram funding, which helps kindergarten-level children enrolled in Pelp. Madam Zaida's five-year-old son is too young to be diagnosed, as children can be diagnosed only from around age six.

Under Pelp, an educational therapist and parents work together to set goals in speech and language therapy classes based on an individual's literacy ability.

Since 2006, Pelp has helped over 2,000 pre-schoolers. DAS offers this programme at 12 of its 14 learning centres here.

"He is able to speak in sentences and his speech is clearer now," said Madam Zaida, who has noticed improvement in her youngest son.

Ishk Tolaram Foundation first supported the DAS in 2019, when it pledged $243,000 for the academic years 2019 and 2020.

Ms Sandhya Aswani, the foundation's programme director for Singapore, said the organisation believes in building strong foundations in the early childhood years to give all children an equal start in education.

Mr Lee Siang, DAS chief executive, thanked the foundation for its funding. He said the money would help to widen the association's capacity to support more pre-schoolers struggling with basic literacy.

Parents who suspect their children have dyslexia may register for a screening test with DAS by calling 6444-5700 on weekdays between 9am and 5.30pm.