REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION- COMMUNITY-INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT

(PEMANDU, 2011)  7 % of standard 2 Malay children were found to have dyslexia (Gomez 2000)  4.43% of undergraduate university students were found to have dyslexia (Ong et al. 2009)

Presently - no Malaysian standardized instruments to identify children with specific reading difficulties. In March 2001, the Ministry of Education officials formulated a checklist for screening all Malaysian children in Standard 1. The checklist (‘Senarai Semak Disleksia’) consists of three elements: – (i) pupils’ level of mastery in reading and writing (spelling) and numeracy skills (difficulties); – (ii) teachers’/parents’ perception of pupils’ abilities (strengths); and – (iii) predictors of dyslexia.

Objectives To develop and validate the Dyslexia Screening Test Bahasa Malaysia (DSTBM). To determine the effectiveness of the DSTBM to identify dyslexic children. To determine the visual status of children with dyslexia. To determine the language and literacy abilities of children with dyslexia. To determine the auditory status of children with dyslexia. To determine the internalizing and externalizing problems of children with dyslexia.

Adapted from Fawcett & Nicolson (1996) and developed by lecturers from multidisciplinary field of Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. For school professionals Wan Nor Azlen (2004) provides norms for 8-year- old children. Psychometric properties has not been reported. Dyslexia Screening Test Bahasa Malaysia (DSTBM)

Study Design & Sample Cross-sectional design Standard 2 children – 7:6 – 8:6 (n= 501) Cluster sampling 5 Sekolah Kebangsaan at Klang Valley area Received at least 15 months of formal instruction.

DSTBM has 11 subsets: 1.Rapid naming 2.One minute reading 3.Two minutes spelling 4.Postural stability 5.Bead Threading 6.One minute writing 7.Nonsense passage reading 8.Phonemic segmentation 9.Semantic fluency 10.Verbal fluency 11.Backward digit span

RESULTS

Cronbach’s Alpha of DSTBM Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted Rapid Naming0.782 Bead Threading0.814 One Minuet Reading0.742 Postural Stability0.824 Phonemic Segmentation0.752 Two Minutes Spelling0.750 Backward Digit Span0.784 Nonsense Passage Reading0.764 One Minute Writing0.761 Verbal Fluency0.759 Semantic Fluency0.777 Overall Cronbach’s Alpha0.792

Challenges of the project Lack of awareness in Parents & Teachers Lack of human resources for diagnostic High drop- out rate for diagnosis

Benefits of community Confirmed Dyslexia Educational Placement Intervention Planning

Benefits of community Helpful tool for teachers at school level to determine whether a student needs further evaluation by clinical or educational psychologist. EARLY DETECTION EARLY INTERVENTION – now also in planning Before the dyslexics lose their self-esteem Helpful tool for teachers at school level to determine whether a student needs further evaluation by clinical or educational psychologist. EARLY DETECTION EARLY INTERVENTION – now also in planning Before the dyslexics lose their self-esteem

Conclusions reliable and valid With the exclusion of Postural Stability subtest and Bead Threading subtest, DSTBM is currently a reliable and valid dyslexia screening instrument for eight-year-old Malay speaking children.

Who are the dyslexics?