At a recent Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) UNITE Conference 2026’s International Networking Session¹, our four international Oak Foundation Scholars took the stage. Their countries, budgets, and even their languages had little in common. Yet, Dr. Haironi Yusoff  (Malaysia), Ms. Mira Laurentia (Indonesia), Ms. Letang Jiri (Botswana), and Ms. Paola  Eunice Camacho (Philippines) demonstrated that our global challenges surrounding dyslexia and the solutions to address them are deeply interconnected. While geographical contexts vary across Asia and Africa, the barriers faced by neurodivergent individuals remain remarkably universal.  

As this article explores their journeys in dyslexia advocacy, Singapore’s own 35-year journey is woven into the same narrative.  

Overcoming an Invisible Crisis  

Every speaker began, in one way or another, by highlighting that dyslexia remains largely invisible within public educational systems, leading to widespread mislabeling, stigma, and under-identification.  

In her presentation on the Role of Dyslexia Association of Sarawak, Dr. Haironi noted that while an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 primary school children in Malaysia are affected by dyslexia, the lack of universal public screening means that this can be an underestimation. “There is no universal screening for dyslexia in Malaysia,” she said, “so the figures are probably higher.”  

A similar picture emerged in the Philippines. Ms. Paola, during her presentation on Inclusion in the Philippines, went further, admitting that when she was first asked to report on dyslexia in the Philippines, she “thought I would just probably hand you a blank page”. There is still no national prevalence study, screening system, registry, workforce database, or dedicated policy in her country.

Ms. Letang described the same gap in Botswana, pointing to the lack of standardised screening tools and trained personnel for dyslexia. Because formal screening is so rare in Africa, roughly 90% of dyslexia cases are first identified informally by a classroom teacher.  

In Indonesia, Ms. Laurentia approached the invisibility issue from a cultural perspective, describing dyslexia as a “hidden humanitarian crisis”. She explained that Indonesia’s 17,000 islands and hundreds of languages make consistent data collection and service provision especially challenging.  

When a Learning Difference Becomes a Character Judgement  

Every speaker echoed the same message: A child’s neurodiversity is too often misinterpreted as a moral failing.  

Ms. Laurentia went on in her presentation on Redefining Human Potential Beyond Academic Margins in Indonesia, further stating that dyslexia “is not merely a pedagogical challenge but a hidden humanitarian crisis in which academic standards are prioritised  over human potential”. She described how Indonesian children with dyslexia grow up hearing words like malas (lazy), bodoh (stupid), and nakal (naughty), reducing a neurological difference to a perceived character flaw.  

Dr. Haironi highlighted a similar reality in Malaysia, where children with dyslexia are often labelled as “slow learners” by their teachers. Such labels reinforce stigma, diminish self confidence, and shape how these children see themselves long before they understand their own learning differences.  

This sentiment was mirrored by Ms. Letang, in her presentation about Dyslexia and Social Support Services Botswana, speaking as both an advocate and a sister to a dyslexic brother. She pointed out that cultural misunderstandings frequently attribute dyslexia to “witchcraft” or a “curse”. These beliefs are further compounded by the lack of assessment tools standardised in many native African languages, leaving countless children without timely identification or appropriate support.  

Singapore has not been immune to this same instinct to misread the condition. DAS has long acknowledged that dyslexia continues to be widely misunderstood, often being wrongly equated with low intelligence or laziness rather than recognised as a specific learning difference unrelated to a person’s intelligence.  

A 2019 Channel NewsAsia feature, “IN FOCUS: After struggling in school for years, these adults with dyslexia now embrace their strengths,” illustrates how such misconceptions can linger well beyond the classroom. A politician, an AI ethicist, and an entrepreneur, who each identified with dyslexia in primary school, reflected on how the perception of being “less capable” continued to influence their confidence, choices, and careers long after they had overcome their reading and writing difficulties.  

While the malas, bodoh, “slow learner,” and “witchcraft” labels our speakers described are not confined to any one country, Singapore’s story is not one of having escaped these misconceptions, but of having had a longer journey to challenge them and there is still more work to be done.  

The High Cost of Inaction  

When dyslexia support systems and early identification are absent, our speakers warned that the consequences extend far beyond poor report cards, pushing vulnerable youth to the margins of society.  

Through her groundbreaking 2024 study conducted at the LPKA Bandung Youth Prison in Indonesia, Ms. Laurentia’s findings revealed that 48.96% (118 out of 241 youth inmates)  met the clinical criteria for dyslexia, presenting some of the strongest evidence yet of this hidden cost. Her findings mirror international research, including a Scottish study by Kirk and Reid (2001)²  which reported a 50% prevalence of dyslexia among institutionalised youth, underscoring the consequences of unaddressed learning differences.  

The United Kingdom has reached a similar conclusion at the policy level. During a 2012 Westminster Hall debate on dyslexia in prisons, UK Member of Parliament Rebecca Harris cited the Prison Reform Trust’s report No One Knows. She told the House that estimates of dyslexia prevalence among offenders range from 4% to 56% with prison-based studies averaging around 30% while rates of serious literacy and numeracy difficulties in prison populations can reach as high as 60%.³ Harris, who is dyslexic herself, described the same emotional journey echoed by our speakers. She recalled being labelled “stupid or lazy” as a child and spoke of how many young offenders eventually “act up to the very labels they are given.”  

Adding to this perspective, Ms. Letang explained how untreated literacy difficulties can lead to marginalisation, social exclusion, and economic vulnerability in adulthood.  

Without early intervention, she warned, these challenges can compound across generations, making dyslexia support not only an educational issue but also one of human rights and social justice.  

Ms. Paola described similar downstream effects in the Philippines. “Undiagnosed dyslexia,” she said, “contributes to school failure, low self-esteem, mental health difficulties, school dropout, and lost economic potential.”  

Singapore’s experience shows that a country with greater resources does not necessarily eliminate these costs. DAS has noted that, beyond academic setbacks, students with dyslexia often experience low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression, pressures that may be intensified by Singapore’s academically rigorous environment.⁴ A Channel NewsAsia commentary published on 29 September 2018 which observed that an excessively competitive culture can affect students’ mental well-being, particularly around high stakes national examinations such as the PSLE. It is a sobering thread connecting Bandung’s correctional facilities, a Westminster Hall debate, and a Singapore classroom, where a learning difference that goes unrecognised, the cost is rarely contained to the classroom alone.  

Building from Scratch: Resourcefulness in Action  

Despite navigating severe shortages of specialist staff, funding, and diagnostic tools, all four speakers showed what sustained, homegrown advocacy looks like when it has to be built from the ground up.  

Dr. Haironi described how a small group of passionate parents, teachers, and lecturers formed the Dyslexia Association of Sarawak in 2004. Starting in a rented shop, the association persevered over two decades to construct a purpose-built centre equipped with assessment rooms and temporary lodging for rural families travelling long distances.  

In Botswana, Ms. Letang built an organisation with “no sponsorship, just passion”,  providing a multi-service model that includes screening, direct remediation, advocacy, and  “Teacher Capacitation.” By equipping mainstream educators with practical skills, her organisation’s support services expand exponentially despite the country’s limited clinical resources. 

In the Philippines, Ms. Paola’s Championing Early Childhood Development initiative relies on the generosity of partners that deliver free seminars to build dyslexia awareness and strengthen capabilities among educators. 

Similarly, Ms. Laurentia’s Gerakan Bhinneka, supported by Yayasan Lentera Insan Kreatif,  is grassroots by design. Built on the Indonesian value of “gotong royong” (communal work), it brings together educators, paediatricians, and psychologists as volunteers around each child rather than waiting for formal systems to catch up.  

It is worth noting that DAS itself began in much the same way. Long before it grew to more than 250 staff across 12 centres supporting over 3,500 students, it was a one-off community project started by volunteers from the Rotary club of Raffles City in 1989. The DAS was formally registered with the Registrar of Societies two years later, in October 1991, starting with a single teacher and 12 students in 1993.⁵

Singapore’s own history shows how long it can take to close such a gap. This is a powerful reminder that every organisation represented at this session, including DAS, began with just a handful of people who chose action over waiting for a system that did not yet exist. The invisibility our four speakers described at the beginning of their presentations is not a permanent condition, but a starting point.  

Empowerment & Regional Advocacy  

Every speaker pushed perspectives beyond a deficit-only view of dyslexia, emphasising the importance of recognising and developing strengths in neurodivergent children.  

From Dr. Haironi’s examples of strength-based activities that nurture creativity, physical  development, and interpersonal skills, to Ms. Letang’s integration of literacy intervention with vocational training such as horticulture and public speaking, to Ms. Paola’s accounts of students progressing from non-readers to confident scholars, and Ms. Laurentia’s  conviction that a diagnosis should open doors rather than close them, every speaker arrived at the same conclusion from a different direction: Advocacy must begin with what a child can do, not what they cannot.  

The focus, therefore, remained firmly on nurturing the whole individual. Literacy intervention cannot stop at reading support at school-going age. True advocacy requires supporting neurodivergent individuals through higher education, employment, and policy reform.  

Ms. Paola illustrated a complete “Journey of Transformation” that guides students from early intervention to college graduation and career placement, ensuring neurodivergent youth transition into self-sufficient, empowered adults. At the systems level, Ms. Letang highlighted the need for regional policy frameworks across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), while Ms. Laurentia continues to advocate for systemic reform within Indonesia’s education and correctional systems.  

A Common Thread to a Connected Future  

The insights shared at the International Networking Session reaffirm that while our operational realities differ from country to country, our core purpose is identical: To unlock the human potential within every dyslexic learner.  

What connects Sarawak, Indonesia, Botswana, and the Philippines is not so much a shared solution but a shared determination that no child should ever believe their struggle defines who they are.  

The DAS, together with its subsidiaries, including DAS Academy and DAS International, has come a long way. As DAS celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, it continues to be guided by a single mission: “empowering those who learn differently, including those with dyslexia, to achieve their true potential.” Guided by the same mission, DAS International remains committed to nurturing these cross-border partnerships so that, regardless of where a child or adult with dyslexia lives, they can access the understanding, intervention, and opportunities they deserve. With the generous support of the Oak Foundation, we will  continue to grow our impact by reaching further into underserved communities and supporting them more deeply through training, knowledge exchange, and capacity building, embracing the philosophy of making a difference “one starfish at a time”.  

As Ms. Paola so poignantly reminded us, “every number is a child.” And Ms. Laurentia’s closing words captured the spirit shared by all four advocates: “When we touch children, we touch humanity.” The global challenge remains immense, but every individual  empowered represents a life transformed. One child, one family, and one community at a time. 

 

¹Dyslexia Association of Singapore (2026). International Network. UNITE 2026 Programme.

²Kirk, J., & Reid, G. (2001). An examination of the relationship between dyslexia and offending in young people and the implications for the training system. Special Issue: Dyslexia and Crime, 7(2), 77– 84.

³UK Parliament, Hansard, “Dyslexia (Prisons),” Westminster Hall debate, 21 November  2012, Rebecca Harris MP (Castle Point) 

⁴Dyslexia Association of Singapore, “Understanding the Intersection of Dyslexia and Mental Health in Singapore,” citing a Channel NewsAsia commentary of 29 September 2018

⁵Dyslexia Association of Singapore, “History of DAS“