“Last time I couldn’t read any words, but now I can read a whole paragraph!” exclaims Keira Lim. The Primary 3 student at Singapore’s Xishan Primary School is not just celebrating a personal victory; she is articulating quiet breakthroughs happening in mainstream classrooms across the island.
During the thrice-weekly hour-long sessions after school, teachers trained in the School-based Dyslexia Remediation (SDR) programme patiently guide small groups of 4 to 5 students, systematically build reading skills through phonics, sight words, and reading comprehension strategies.
“The challenges are as diverse as the students themselves,” reflects Ms H’ng Hwee Shi, Senior Teacher, Learning Needs. She explains that some students struggle to read individual words but still grasp the overall meaning, while others read fluently yet have difficulty understanding what they have read.
