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Winners of the inaugural Young Achiever’s Award from
the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (from left) Ms Rini
Tan, Mr Lucas Chia and Mr Teo Heng Hao.
ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
Five years ago, when Mr Teo Heng Hao was in Secondary 4, he made himself a promise that once he had
cleared his O levels, he would strive to finish any future examinations within the same time as his peers. Mr Teo, now 21 and serving national service, is dyslexic and suffered taunts during his school days.
Dyslexia, a learning disorder, affects a person’s ability to master a language. Schools usually give such students extra time to complete their exam papers.
Mr Teo said: “Some schoolmates thought I was ‘retarded’ because I was given more time, or they complained
that it was unfair. “I didn’t like hearing those comments, so I told myself I would not use the extra time allocated to me once I completed my O levels.”
He went on to graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a business diploma, scoring a high grade point average of 3.7. “It was definitely more difficult and very stressful during exams. Sometimes I thought that if I took the extra time, I would score better grades. But the truth is, no one is going to give you extra time in the working
world, so I wanted to start training myself to work fast,” he added.
Mr Teo is one of three recipients of the inaugural Young Achiever’s Award given out yesterday by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS). The awards, which honour dyslexic youth for exemplary and inspiring achievements, were given out at the annual DAS student graduation ceremony held at Fusionopolis.
A total of 90 students graduated from a DAS programme that assists dyslexic youth in areas such as reading and spelling. As dyslexic children may struggle with literacy abilities, the scheme works to “fit” their chronological age with their literacy abilities before they can graduate. All three award recipients graduated from this programme several years ago.
Mr Teo, who was also in the national karate team, said he was both honoured and surprised to be chosen. “It reaffirms the effort I have put in over the years to improve myself and is a reminder to keep working hard,” he said.
The other recipients were Ms Rini Tan, 18, a polytechnic student; and Mr Lucas Chia, 23, who is awaiting university admission.
Both are involved in the performing arts. Ms Tan is a member of the Singapore Ballet Academy, and Mr Chia performed at the Youth Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies. He has taken on theatre roles since he was four.
Ms Tan, a Singapore Polytechnic international business student, said she hopes to reach out to dyslexic youth to remind them that they are able to achieve “just as many things as others”.
Mr Chia said: “There will always be people who don’t really understand the disorder, but as long as we explain things to them and do not take their misconceptions to heart, things will be okay.”
The event’s guest of honour, Mrs Lim Thian Loke, deputy director of psychological services and psychological
assessment and research at the Ministry of Education, said she hoped dyslexic youth would “be inspired by the accomplishments of the DAS Young Achievers”.
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