Action for Dyslexia

Sharlene Nyssel

Sharanya Sandra

Introduction

Campaign objectives

Promoting the awareness of Dyslexia

Creating a dyslexic friendly environment in Singapore’s schools

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a neurologically based specific learning difficulty Characterised by

difficulties in one or more of reading, spelling and writing.

3% to 10% of Singaporeans may be affected.

Signs & symptoms

Research on Dyslexia

A survey conducted by NTU

Gathered information about the level of awareness and perception of dyslexia

More than a thousand parents

From 16 primary schools

Survey Findings

Yes 49%No 51%

“Are you aware of the condition dyslexia?”

49% of them responded ‘Yes’ to the question

Significant half of the Singaporean population lack knowledge of dyslexia

Survey Findings

71.9% of respondents agreed with this statement

“Most of the teachers don’t have the training necessary to teach dyslexic children

Strongly Agree21%

Agree

51%

Neu-tral

19%

Dis-agre

e6%

Strongly Dis-agre

e3%

Action for Dyslexia

Significance of our campaign

Phase One: Awareness

Dyslexic students face more than just a difficulty with reading, writing and spelling

Without sufficient knowledge about dyslexia, a student may never realise their potential, their peers look down on them instead of helping them, teachers may never see a bright student succeed and parents continue to believe their children are underachievers

Awareness must be raised to foster acceptance and action

Phase Two: A ‘Dyslexia Friendly’ Environment

Campaign aims to help Primary School children and provide opportunities for early detection

Phase Two aims to target key stakeholders in a student’s education – Parents and Teachers

Aims to motivate Teachers to become proactive in diagnosing students and to initiate greater action of Parents

This will in turn create the best environment for students to succeed in their education

Barriers to the Campaign Strategy

Fostering acceptance of this campaign among school authorities who may feel an external campaign threatening

Accommodating for Singapore’s cosmopolitan society

No Child Should Be Left Behind

Reading, writing and spelling are essential life skills

All children should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, so that they may successfully contribute to the future of Singapore

Action for dyslexia must begin now!

Action for Dyslexia

Campaign Promotional Activities

Pre-launch Activities LEAD TIME ACTIVITY

All year round Circulation of Information Booklets

3 months Online MediaCirculation of campaign pamphlets

2 months Print Advertisement in Magazine

4 weeks Television Commercial

2 weeks Radio Commercial

Invitation to Media Correspondents

Information Guides

Key locations of distribution: Schools,

Educational Institutes

National Institute of Education (teacher trainees)

General Public Spaces, such as malls/popular stores that parents frequent

Information Guides

Provided all year round at key locations, covering facts about Dyslexia and misconceptions surrounding it

Information about the various association that exist to aid children

Home remedial methods, basic training methods will be explained

Details of counseling services available for parents and dyslexic students

Campaign Pamphlets

Circulated at key locations

2 months prior to the event launch

Covering key aspects of main campaign event

Print Media

Advertisements on the campaign will be published in relevant family magazines, namely Young Parents

Seeks to also raise awareness and change people’s misconceptions on dyslexia

Broadcast Media

Television Commercials

Campaign adverts on LED Screens @ Raffles Place, HDB Hub MRT stations and Malls

Generate hype and awareness amongst target audience

1 month prior to event: once a day

2 weeks prior to event: twice a day

Broadcast Media

Radio commercials

Information on the campaign will be read out daily, for 2 weeks by the radio deejays on radio programs that target the parents and teachers Class 95 FM, Warna 94.2

FM, Gold 90.5 FM and Y.E.S 93.3 FM

Online Website & Social Networking Site

Online promotions

Actionfordyslexia blog and Facebook group have been set up and are regularly updated

Information will be provided about the campaign details and schedule, together with the list of online resources for concerned parents and teachers

Action for Dyslexia - Blog

Action for Dyslexia – Facebook Group

Invitation to Media Correspondents

Invites will be sent out to journalists and reporters 2 weeks prior to campaign launch to provide coverage of the month long events and seminars taking place.

Press releases will also be sent out to provide increased reach of awareness for both the public and media covering the campaign.

Main Event

Overview

Annual Action for Dyslexia campaign: spread over 2 weeks in June

Providing information and ease of access to target demographic to tackle concerned issue

Event includes talks, seminars, workshops, free consultation sessions on certain days of the week for concerned parties

Seminars and conferences held in Singapore Suntec City Convention Centre

Other mini events held at HDB Hubs and shopping malls around Singapore

Main Event

Rationale

Culmination of the awareness and publicity generated prior to the launch

Annual campaign that public can easily recognize in the years to come

Comprehensive spread of events and seminars over the 2 weeks provides the target market with avenues to tackle concern

Extended timeline suitable to cater to needs and time constraints of all parties involved

Event Activities

Workshop-style Conference and Seminars:

Aimed at equipping parents and teachers with methods to aid in solving the child’s problem

Concerned parties will be instructed by professionals as to what training methods are to be undertaken to take the problem effectively

Celebrity talks:

Evening events with celebrities who are dyslexic will be held to expose the normalcy of the problem and attract interest from the public

Aimed at increasing the awareness and gathering more public to attend the events

Flash Mobs:

Break out of flash mobs at popular areas to create a surprise effect and also a creative and refreshing approach to a serious issue

 

Phase Two

Phase Two seeks to create a “Dyslexia Friendly” environment and targets parents and teachers.

We want to motivate and encourage teachers and more importantly, parents to accept and cater to the needs of dyslexic children.

To create an environment where teachers and parents actively work to diagnose students at an early stage and ensure that the students are able to excel.

Phase Two

Workshops for dyslexic students Carried out by either

trained teachers or external speakers

Classes tailored specially for dyslexic students Liaised with the Ministry

of Education Held during school hours

Allow dyslexic students to swap out of the normal English classes to attend special classes

Conclusion

Issue requires immediate attention.

Campaign aims to increase awareness of issue amongst parents and teachers, change existing misconceptions and provide the appropriate solutions to tackle the issue

No child has a disability, they only have different abilities

End