Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences Volume 8 ⬧ Number 1 ⬧ January 2021 Published by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) © 2021 DAS ISSN 2717 5200 (digital) Contact: The Managing Editor Dyslexia Association of Singapore 1 Jurong West Central 2 #05-01, Jurong Point Singapore 648886 Email: [email protected] Reprint permission may be obtained by writing to the Managing Editor at the above address. The responsibility for facts and opinions represented in the articles rests exclusively with the individual authors. Their interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the editorial committee, the Review Panel, sponsors of the Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences, or the Dyslexia Association of Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences Editor-in-Chief Associate Editors Professor Angela Fawcett Helen Boden, CEO British Dyslexia Association, UK Research Consultant Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Professor Hugh Catts, Florida State University, USA Emeritus Professor Professor James Chapman, Massey University, New Zealand Swansea University, UK Emeritus Professor Professor Steve Chinn, Educational Consultant, UK Sheffield University, UK Prof. Kevin K H Chung, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Kate Curawalla, President, Maharashtra Dyslexia Association, Mumbai, India Dr Kristiantini Dewi, Dyslexia Association of Indonesia, Indonesia Executive Editor Dr Shirley Egley, University of South Wales, UK Professor John Everatt Dr Gad Elbeheri, Dean, Australian University of Kuwait University of Canterbury Professor Esther Geva, University of Toronto, Canada New Zealand Dr Charles Haynes, MGH Institute of Health Professionals, Boston, USA Professor Connie Ho, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Professor Sunil Karande, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India Junko Kato MD, Japan Dyslexia Research Association Professor Sharanjeet-Kaur, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Professor Amanda Kirby, University of South Wales, UK Dr Lim Boon Hock, Special Education Consultant, Malaysia Managing Editor Professor Su-Jan Lin, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan Deborah Hewes Dr Beth O’Brien, National Institute of Education, Singapore Assistant Director, Publicity and Publications Dr Dino Ocampo, Philippine Dyslexia Foundation, Philippines Dyslexia Association of Singapore Dr Ong Puay Hoon, Dyslexia Association of Sarawak, Malaysia Contact: Asst Professor Kenneth Poon, National Institute of Education, Singapore Dr John Rack, Dyslexia Action, UK 1 Jurong West Central 2 #05-01, Jurong Point Dr Gavin Reid, Educational Consultant, UK Singapore 648886 Assoc. Professor Susan Rickard Liow, National University of Singapore [email protected] Dr Kate Saunders, Private Consultant, UK Geetha Shantha Ram, Dyslexia Association of Singapore, Singapore Dr Thomas Sim, Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, Australia Dr Purboyo Solek, Dyslexia Association of Indonesia, Indonesia Professor Su-Jan Lin, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan Professor Akira Uno, Tsukuba University, Japan Professor Taeko N. Wydell, Brunel University, UK Assistant Professor Dongbo Zhang, Michigan State University, USA Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences Volume 8 | Number 1 | January 2021 Contents 1 Editorial Comment Angela J. Fawcett 5 Progress monitoring of dyslexic primary school learners enrolled in an English Exam Skills Programme Tuty Elfira Abdul Razak, Siti Asjamiah Asmuri, Andy Wang and Edmen Leong 31 Effectiveness of a Multimodal Intervention using Movement, Mental Exercise and Dietary Approaches on Children with Specific Learning Difficulties Isaac Tan Chiang Huan, Lim Zhong Hao and Joyce Ang Yan Ting 61 The role of Mindfulness and Positive Psychology interventions in job crafting for educators: A diagnostic and prescriptive approach to supporting educators through Mindfulness and Positive Psychology during a crisis. Harsheeni H. Rajoo 99 Hyperlexia in 3-year-old twins with and without Autistic Spectrum Disorder Patricia Mui Hoon Ng 119 Student Voice on Teachers’ Attributes that Resulted in Positive Learning Outcomes for Students with SEN in Mainstream Schools in Singapore Steven Sim Gek Leng 143 Developmental Dyslexia and Compensatory Skills: The man who could not read but learned to fly. Lynn C. Holmes, Jean V. Fourie, Martyn P. Van Der Merwe, Alban Burke and Elzette Fritz 173 Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction: Inclusive practice that benefits all kinds of learners. Masarrat Khan and Rameeza Khan 1 Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences Vol. 8, No. 1, January 2021, pp. 1—3 Editorial Comment Angela J. Fawcett, Editor-in-Chief It is a very great pleasure to publish this issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences, now in its 8th year of publication, which is published by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS). The response to the previous issues continues to be extremely gratifying, and we maintain these high standards in this issue and forthcoming issues. We are grateful for the support of the academics and professionals involved in resolving any issues arising, and ensuring our journal maintains high professional and ethical standards. The seven articles featured in the current issue represent material drawn largely from Singapore, with contributions from as far afield as India and South Africa. We are particularly grateful to those contributors who have managed to revise their contributions despite the constraints of the current lockdowns internationally in response to the pandemic. Topics for the current issue cover a broad range, from articles on positive psychology, to autism in twins, with the majority focusing on dyslexia across the age range, specifically in this issue addressing the voice of the participants. The first article in this issue adopts a rigorous traditional experimental approach, with a study from the DAS team led here by Tuty Elfira Adbul Razak, evaluating the long-term impact of the Exam Skills programme on the achievement of the children involved, comparing outcomes for 96 children, who had participated from between 1 and 3 terms in this support. The results provided clear evidence that the most effective outcomes demand the longer period of registration and continuity of support with some exceptionally strong statistical findings for improvement in scores for English in line with those needed for Primary school leaving examination for mainstream schools in Singapore. The next article adopts a questionnaire approach, here working with parents of children in Singapore from the team at Care Corner, KidsBright, who have undertaken a mixed modality intervention based on movement , mental exercise and diet. The parents are united in advocating the strengths of this approach in improving many aspects of behaviour including attention and learning, and the authors suggest that this could be useful adjunct to more traditional interventions in future studies. © 2021 Dyslexia Association of Singapore Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences www.das.org.sg Vol. 8 No. 1 January 2021 2 An unusual approach is evident in the next article presented here, which emphasises the importance of mindfulness during this period of COVID-19 pandemic, with a contribution from Harsheeni Rajoo who has introduced these concepts throughout DAS. Here the author presents a qualitative research study in a thematic analysis on the impact of mindfulness training on the job crafting of eight of the educational advisors at DAS, in a series of questionnaires culminating most recently during the period of the coronavirus lockdown. It is a pleasure to report that the upheaval in teaching has been handled extraordinarily well over this period, not least with the support of this positive approach. It is particularly important to address research of this type during periods of additional stress and change for the world. A very different topic is presented by Patricia Ng in the next article in this issue, a case study of non-identical twins aged 3 years 9 months, with hyperlexia. This means that their reading level is higher than both their chronological age and their understanding. Interestingly, one twin, the boy, presents with symptoms of autism, and a verbal functioning level of 1 year 6 months, suggesting savant abilities. A similar profile is not present in his twin sister, whose word recognition level is 8 years 11 months, 1.5 years higher than her level of understanding, indicating a more moderate form of hyperlexia. This is an interesting and unusual topic with a contribution to make to our understanding of the rich differences between individual children with learning differences. The next two articles to some extent share a common theme, that of the student voice, but here they represent very different participants. The first article from Steven Sim examined the attributes mainstream adolescents found most helpful in their teachers, in terms of their outcomes. The technique used was based on pictorial cards and the Diamond 9 ranking approach. Interestingly respect, caring and patience were the top attributes in teachers that students highlighted as critical to their success. Self-concepts were more influential than teacher praise, which is in itself an important finding. The next article from Lynne Holmes and colleagues from South Africa presents an extraordinary study of the thoughts and dreams of a dyslexic adult, who was determined to become a pilot despite the difficulties he still