Dyslexic pupils in the UAE need more support, experts say

While strides have been made in addressing the needs of pupils with dyslexia, society still has a ways to go in ensuring children get early treatment and a proper education, experts say.

DUBAI // Teachers need more specific training in special needs to help them identify and provide fully for dyslexic pupils, education professionals say.

Courses in special education are too broad to equip teachers to deal with the reading disorder, said Rudolf Stockling, clinical director of the Lexicon Reading Centre in Dubai.

“Unfortunately, many teachers still say to parents, ‘it’s OK, just give him a bit more time, it will come’,” said Mr Stockling.

“But in many cases it does not come and early intervention is by far the most effective way of treating the problem.”

He said signs of the disorder, present in 5 to 10 per cent of pupils, could be identified early.

Preschoolers with dyslexia often show a disinterest in nursery rhymes and learning letters and numbers, mainly because they cannot comprehend them.

For some, signs are missed until they get older and reading is more complex. Philippa Bodien, special education needs advisor, professional development for Gems Education, said teachers and parents needed to have empathy for dyslexic children.

“The core difficulty with dyslexia is the discrimination, memory for and use of separate sounds within the words,” said Ms Bodien, who started a dyslexia unit at Jumeirah Primary School in 1998.

“It’s therefore really important to teach these core elements as early as possible. They key words there are early identification.

“More than anything else, as we talk about inclusion in today’s world, they need empathy from their teachers and, of course, at home with their parents.

“You don’t need training to be empathetic, do you really? Every good teacher should be trained to say, ‘Is what I’m teaching being learnt and if it’s not learnt, what can I do to bridge the way forward into learning?’”

Chris Huntley, head of special needs for the consultancy Ebdaah, works with teachers and assistants to look for “red flags” in a child’s behaviour that may point toward dyslexia.

“It is a big issue. There are a lot of children out there in mainstream schools here that have dyslexia,” Ms Huntley said.

“What I’ve been working on with a lot of teachers is how to adjust your lessons to make sure that you anticipate the stressors that will be involved with a dyslexic person, and how can you anticipate it so that child will be successful.

“And you manipulate the lesson so that his self-esteem has been raised rather than knocked.”

As well as assessing students and working with schools to train staff, the Lexicon Reading Centre also offers regular workshops to raise awareness of dyslexia.

From August 4 to 26, the centre is offering summer school for children and young adults with dyslexia and dysgraphia, in which children have difficulties writing. For more information, email [e-mail] or call 050 795 4428.

The Taleem Centre for Training and Skills Development in Abu Dhabi is also offering summer school for special educational needs students.

For more information, visit taleemcentre.com