Guest of Honour, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, at the Certificate Presentation Ceremony for Special Needs Officers by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Mon, 1 October 2007, 3.30 pm, Dyslexia Centre

GUEST OF HONOUR, MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND MINISTRY OF MANPOWER, AT THE CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION CEREMONY FOR SPECIAL NEEDS OFFICERS BY THE DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE, MON, 1 OCTOBER 2007, 3.30 PM,
DYSLEXIA CENTRE

1. In May 2005, MOE announced the Special Needs Officer Scheme or the SNO Scheme to provide support for students with mild to moderate Dyslexia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools and to help them integrate better with their school community.

2. Today, 130 SNOs have been deployed to 103 schools (80 primary schools and 23 secondary schools). By 2010, there will be at least 140 SNOs providing support for students with dyslexia, and 96 SNOs to support students with autism.

3. These SNOs will provide in-class support, small group specialised remedial work and skills training for students with dyslexia and autism. They complement the support that class teachers provide to these students.

4. In addition, MOE recognises the need to support students with other special learning difficulties, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, speech and language difficulties. Therefore, up to 10% of the teaching staff in all schools will be trained to better support students with other special needs in their respective schools. This in-service training commenced in June 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2010.

5. Today, I am pleased to present certificates to 50 SNOs from the first two cohorts who have completed their training in dyslexia. They have undergone a one year full-time Diploma in Special Education course conducted by the National Institute of Education (NIE) and as part of this course, they attend 288 hours of lectures and practical training at the DAS. The training have include three specialist modules:

a. The identification of children with dyslexia and related learning difficulties,

b. The support of children with dyslexia using the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory approach, and

6. I am glad that the SNOs have found the practical nature of their training at the DAS most helpful to their work in the schools.

7. The DAS has been our training partner for our SNOs. I am glad to note that DAS’ own teachers undergo a comprehensive 20-month training programme culminating in a Diploma in Dyslexia Studies accredited by the University of Cambridge International Examinations Board. It is encouraging that DAS continues to invest heavily on the professional development of its staff of psychologists, speech and language therapists and specialist teachers by awarding scholarships and overseas training opportunities to them. This is important, because it determines how well our SNOs are trained and how well our children will be supported.

9. I met Mrs Fawzi of Gan Eng Seng Primary School this year, when I visited the school. She carries a wide range of responsibilities from providing direct support to pupils with dyslexia, to providing consultation to teachers on other disabilities like ADHD. She also adapted a literacy programme, Toe-by-toe, to help pupils who were struggling with reading. Mrs Fawzi has successfully applied her training not only to pupils with dyslexia, but to pupils with different types of educational difficulties. I could see that she had become an integral and valued member of the school staff.

10. The contributions of SNOs are not limited to their own schools. Miss Shirley Tan for example, collaborated with the HOD for Pupil Development and TSN of Ping Yi Secondary School to share at the EXCEL Fest this year on ‘Engaging students with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom’. In so doing, she extended her influence beyond her school, facilitating a higher level of awareness, among others.

11. I am sure many SNOs present today will find your new career challenging and rewarding. You are an important part of our mainstream schools. You have a heavy responsibility and you can make a difference to our children with special needs, their parents, and their teachers. Congratulations on having completed your specialist modules in dyslexia – I look forward to your contribution to the education of our children.