Students Diagnosed with Dyslexia in Past Three Years

84 Mr Don Wee asked the Minister for Education in each of the last three years, how many children have been diagnosed with dyslexia at the pre-school, Primary and Secondary levels respectively.

Mr Lawrence Wong: In keeping with international practice, we do not diagnose for dyslexia at pre-school. Instead, during the pre-school years, we focus on supporting pre-schoolers’ emerging learning needs rather than testing them for reading disabilities.

At Primary One, all students are screened so that those with weak language and literacy skills receive early intervention through the Learning Support Programme (LSP). Dyslexia typically shows up as difficulties in reading despite adequate language exposure and good reading instruction. Hence those whose literacy difficulties persist despite LSP receive further screening for dyslexia identification.

Based on 2016 to 2019 data, about 3.5% of Primary 3 students were reported as having dyslexia. In Secondary 1, about an additional 1% of the cohort were reported with dyslexia. The proportion of students with dyslexia in Singapore is within the international prevalence of between 3% and 10%.

As dyslexia ranges from mild to severe, the type of support provided depends on the student’s level of need. We have a range of school-based programmes and support, as well as MOE-subsidised remediation by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS).