Dyslexia & Its Causes

DAS is guided in its definition of Dyslexia by the Ministry of Education, Singapore in their November 2011 publication “Professional Practice Guidelines for the Psycho-educational Assessment and Placement of Students with Special Educational Needs”.

Dyslexia is a type of specific learning difficulty identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition1. It is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and processing speed. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia2.

An appropriate literacy programme should include the following components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension3. The literacy programme provided by DAS meets these guidelines.