Kier Duat Letchumanan is a 21-year-old with phonological dyslexia which affects his reading and pronunciation as he struggles to recognise the sounds of spoken language. He cannot pronounce some words and is oftentimes not understood by others. He takes this in his stride and is comfortable to admit that he is dyslexic. He acknowledges his challenges and redoubles his effort to improve through practice.


Kier’s confidence was built during his four years in Mayflower Secondary School. He did not feel that he was singled out because of his condition. Listening to him recount his time at Mayflower, he clearly enjoyed those years which were described as “chaotic, fun and enjoyable” although he comes across as quiet and thoughtful. He describes himself as being adaptable: an ambivert who is introverted with strangers but extroverted with friends.


He integrated well with different groups of school friends. Classmates would help him in subjects that they were stronger in, and in return, he would help weaker students in Computer Application which was his strong suit as it was not language based.

It helped that Kier’s best friend had a contrasting personality. While Kier was quiet, Aaron was hyper, chatty, loud and boisterous yet he was sensitive to Kier and gave him the opportunity to speak up despite his limited vocabulary, poor pronunciation and short sentences. Aaron was also super good in Math and encouraged Kier to attempt higher Math. From a “D” or “U” (ungraded), Kier managed to get “B” and “A” grades, to the surprise of his teachers, and these were through Aaron's efforts. “Keep believing in yourself” was the motto that Aaron used to egg Kier on.


Teachers were also caring and nurturing. As he was a visual learner, Kier’s Math teacher would assign work to Kier in advance, using colour coding for him to visualize and have a better grasp of the concepts. In English, although Kier was clearly struggling in Comprehension, his teacher would “pick” on him in a good way to give him more practice, challenge him and boost his confidence.

There were early tell-tale signs, like doodling on exam papers, that made Kier think that visual communication would be his strength. He went on to pursue this as a course at ITE. He also took an aptitude test to assess his imaginative and creative abilities and while pursuing art, he also established that realism did not appeal to him. Creating cartoon characters, graphic design and more abstract art forms were his main interests. In addition, he developed an interest in digital photography particularly product photography. As part of the course requirements for his Diploma in Design for Communication & Experiences at LaSalle College of the Arts, Kier completed his internship requirement at Caratell, a fine jewellery atelier, where he produced visuals for its social media platforms. He enjoyed the opportunity to play around with techniques to portray jewellery that would be appealing to viewers and customers and was delighted with an increase in the number of “likes” received.


Kier’s journey has been anchored on three beliefs. Adaptability wherever he is, to people and situations; self-insight to know his strengths and weaknesses and how to overcome; and belief in himself. He feels that nothing has come easy to him, and he has had to try harder than others and accept rejection multiple times. Yet, he has the confidence that he will come through well. Jiayou, Kier!


Nov 2024


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PHONOLOGICAL DYSLEXIA

Dyslexia is a type of specific learning difficulty identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition. It is not a problem with intelligence although the difficulty can mask a person's intelligence. It is not a problem with vision although it is sometimes described as "word blindness" and dyslexics also say that they see words and letters running around. Dyslexics struggle with reading and comprehension as well as spelling and writing. Challenges can be life long but there are diagnostic tools for early detection and intervention strategies that can compensate for the difficulty.


Phonological dyslexia is a reading disorder where a person struggles with phonological processing — the ability to recognize the sounds of spoken language. A person with this condition is unable to identify the phonemes (letter sounds) that make up words and are unable to separate a word into the syllables and sounds that make up the word.


Words are made up of individual sounds and these sounds can be manipulated to change a word’s meaning. For example, the words 'pat' and 'bat have very similar sounds but completely different meanings. Difficulty distinguishing between the 'p' and 'b' phonemes can lead to issues with reading comprehension, spelling as well as written and oral expression.


Other associated challenges include difficulties in sounding out unfamiliar words and difficulty in recognizing familiar words in new contexts.


Symptoms
  • Difficulty learning sounds made by letters and/or letter combinations
  • Difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words (decoding)
  • Slow or stumbling reading
  • Difficulty with spelling
  • Difficulty recognizing familiar words in new contexts
  • Avoiding reading activities

These symptoms also often appear alongside others that are associated with dyslexia, such as short-term memory problems, poor executive functioning skills, difficulties with awareness and perception of the position and balance of the body, and balance and struggles with fine motor skills.

Causes

Dyslexia is a disorder present at birth. It cannot be prevented or cured and without proper diagnosis and instruction, it can lead to frustration, poor performance in school and low self-esteem.

Treatment

While a person with phonological dyslexia struggles to read, he can learn ways to process language. Eventually, he will be able to read at a level that is near or equal to peers. This may be through:

  1. Individualized, fun and engaging approach based on the specific learning difficulties of the person
  2. Engaging multiple senses such as auditory, visual, and touch (kinaesthetic)
  3. Introducing language in a structured, systematic, sequential, logical and cumulative order
  4. Learning the general rules involved in how language is structured and developing phonemic awareness
  5. Flexibility in approach so that the person can grasp and understand patterns
  6. A praise and reward approach or positive and encouraging feedback that celebrates any progress that the person makes to motivate him to continue trying
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