Rising Above Dyslexia
05 Mar 2015
Spelling tests used to be a huge challenge for Ryan Lim when he was in primary school. He could not spell, had difficulties recognising words, skipped words in sentences and read slower than his peers. Ryan’s short-term recall was particularly bad as he tried to remember words he had read just a few minutes ago.
After struggling for a few years in lower-primary, his parents sent Ryan for a screening test where he was diagnosed with dyslexia.
‘Reading and writing was a challenge for me. Although I understood the larger picture, I tend to miss out on details and it was hard for me to express myself in words,’ recalls Ryan. He had difficulties processing large volumes of readings, took longer to complete readings and had to write full sentences instead of points during revisions.
Despite the difficulties faced, Ryan did well in History, Literature, Economics and Mathematics for his A-level examinations which he sat for last year.
Ryan attributed his success to the support from his family, teachers, and the remediation programmes offered by Dyslexia Association of Singapore which he attended in primary school, where he managed to pick up learning strategies that enabled him to cope better, especially in reading and writing.
‘My parents are very supportive, they brought me and my sister to the library every week when I was young and I enjoyed reading tremendously, even though it was tough. My father used to tell me stories about World War 2, and from there, I developed a keen interest in history,’ opined the avid reader.
Ryan is now a History subject mentor to help his juniors in the subject.
‘I have always wanted to have a mentor to guide me in my studies. I had to overcome challenges, and I know that some of my juniors have their own set of challenges too. I hope to be able to contribute in helping my friends understand the subject I always had passion for – History,’ said Ryan, who aspires to be a History teacher someday.
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Expansion of School-based Dyslexia Remediation Programme:
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