Teach Middle East Podcast
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Teach Middle East Podcast
Dyslexia: Reframing Learning Differences With Rehab Shahbal
Rehab Shahbal, Founder and CEO of DYStinct Learners, shares her journey from financial executive to dyslexia advocate after her son's diagnosis. She discusses how we can better support students with unique learning needs by recognising their differences rather than disabilities.
• Dyslexia should be viewed as a learning difference, not a disability or disease
• Early identification of dyslexia is possible from ages 3-5 through universal screeners
• Dyslexic learners have significant strengths including empathy, creativity, and innovative thinking
• Schools need teachers trained in structured literacy and multisensory instruction techniques
• Research-based intervention programs like Orton-Gillingham provide effective support
• Early intervention is crucial to prevent the social-emotional impact of learning challenges
• Teacher training programs need to incorporate the science of reading principles
• Dyscalculia (math learning difficulties) is gaining recognition but needs more research
• Distinct Learners provides online, personalised support for students anywhere in the world
• Awareness and reduced stigma are essential to help these students reach their potential
Visit distinctlearners.com to learn more about supporting students with dyslexia and dyscalculia.
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Speaker 2:Hey everyone, this is Lisa Grace coming to you with another episode of the Teach Middle East podcast. It is my pleasure to have Rehab Shahbal on the podcast with me. She is the founder and CEO of distinctlearnerscom and we're going to be talking about how we can make the best provisions for students who have unique needs. Now am I just changing special to unique? I'm going to issue with special needs, but I think we all have needs and they're all special. But Rehab and I were talking before we hit record and she was saying we call it special needs and if it makes people pay attention and give the students what they need in order to achieve, then I guess it's worth calling it what it is. It's my pleasure to welcome Rahab to the podcast. Welcome, rahab.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks, thanks, lisa. Thank you for having me over.
Speaker 2:You're welcome. You are welcome. I met Rahab at the Abu Dhabi Teachers Conference, which feels like ages ago, but it really isn't. How have things been since then?
Speaker 3:Things have been good. Things are moving in the right direction, you know, in terms of the attention we're trying to get in raising awareness about dyslexia, because we're over the spiritual month of Ramadan and term three has started in terms of the student's journey. So, yeah, things have been going well.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit about why you are passionate about dyslexia special needs. Let's start there.
Speaker 3:Sure. So my journey with my venture started from my own personal journey. My second born is dyslexic. He was diagnosed at the age of seven and through my journey of trying to get him the right support which I found it quite challenging, you know, being in the region when I did find the right support for him and this was, you know, the pandemic was a strange period of time. It was a blessing and it was a time that you know, made everybody quite weary of what the future holds.
Speaker 3:But for me, as a mother and as a founder, it was a blessing because that fueled my basically current journey and giving the voice to this hidden difference. Again, I don't like the word disability, I call it a difference. What happened was when I did find the right research and evidence-based support for my son. One clear thing that you know came to me was we don't have, or we do have, but it's very limited within the region and the level of awareness and the stigma and the taboo attached to it was quite alarming. And hence I said you know what I just need to give a voice to these other children, support these families, and it's a way of me giving back to the community, also Brilliant.
Speaker 2:What did you discover about dyslexia? Because you said it's something personal with your second son. But what did you discover on that journey?
Speaker 3:So you know what, interestingly enough, as I started learning more about my son and how he learns, slowly, I started, you know, remembering a few people in my childhood, some family relatives, who were labeled slow, stupid, you know, not very smart, not very sharp, and it really dawned on me that these kids most probably were dyslexic or had some form of learning challenges. But because of the level of lack of awareness within the society, these children did not have the equal opportunity to thrive. And, through my journey with my son, it has just amazed me in terms of, you know, the other areas of strength that he has. You know, while today, yes, academic performance is very important, but life skills and what they're able to give back to society is such an important piece, you know, Through my journey, I've also come to identify a lot of people who were dyslexic, who, you know, made a contribution to society, from the likes of Albert Einstein to Richard Branson, you know, Winston Churchill, and so on, so forth, you know, and the way the society and the humanity is moving in the age of AI, it is the very skill set of these big picture learners, you know, and critical thinkers, such as the dyslexic and dyscalculic learners.
Speaker 3:We need more people and hence I want to be an advocate and I want to raise awareness. You know, in terms of what do these kids bring, including the fact that you know regionally research is super limited in terms of you know what are the literacy rates, what are the dyslexia rates and what have you? You know within the society, and then the social, behavioral and emotional impact it has on some of these children as a result of not receiving the right support in their learning journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got a question for you when you were observing your son. What were some of the difficulties he was experiencing that made you pay attention?
Speaker 3:It was not so much as academic although the academic was the trigger, elisa because you know, when I saw this little guy hiding behind the camera back in the online days during COVID, where he couldn't even press on the right letter to spell in the chat, whatever the teacher was asking him, it was the social and developmental needs. You know, he was a very shy boy, extremely low self-esteem, didn't think much of himself. That confidence, lack of confidence. Really. You know, as a parent it's quite painful, because what you want is your child to thrive, because at home you see this completely different personality and outside because society doesn't see him. You know, at par with his peers, that wasn't coming out.
Speaker 3:And you know, one of the key things as a parent is I've made my son speak up and be proud that he is dyslexic. You know I am dyslexic. My brain is wired differently. You know there's nothing different with the way I'm thinking. And ironically, lisa, you know, as I also speak to family members and I say you know my child is dyslexic, the type of reaction that you get, you know the level of awareness is still not there. They think it's like a disease. Oh, how is he doing these days? You know he's fine. It's just that the label itself is a necessity so that he can receive the right support in school. But it has nothing to do with his IQ, it has nothing to do with his ability to fit in society, you know. So it's quite interesting in terms of the amount of emotional and behavioral impact that this label has on children, and even how society reacts to it another question for you.
Speaker 2:So, given that we know so many really top people who have come out to say I am dyslexic, what are some of the strengths you've noticed in your son?
Speaker 3:He is very empathic, a big thinker, you know he can read body language, think out of the box and that's a plus point not very traditional in his thinking. He's witty. His personality the personality comes in. You know his drive and resilience, because you know they have to put in that extra effort in order for them to be able to catch up with their peers. And his ability to basically innovate. You know, in terms of the non-traditional skill sets, that you would expect so because they have to almost make up for that lack of academic ability to their peers, so these other skill sets also come out. And then also in terms of sports, you know he's very athletic and these are the areas that I've been focusing on building. You know it's super important that he feels good in other avenues as opposed to the academic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Our audience is made up of educators, school leaders and teachers. I want to give you an opportunity to help them to identify students who may need additional support, who may be dyslexic. What are some of the things they ought to be looking for?
Speaker 3:So, okay, one of the key things is it's never early to identify if somebody is struggling with literacy skills. You know dyslexia can be at least the early markers can be identified as early as five years and in fact recently I came across research that was saying three years. You know children who struggle with their phonics early on, their colors, rhymes instructions. You know I'm a big promoter, lisa, of running universal screeners in schools and these are not those official labels. We know very well that until the age of seven you cannot officially diagnose a child to have dyslexia. But schools need to equip themselves with the screeners that are out there and you know and I don't want to name or advertise any screener per se but there are a lot of universal screeners that are out there which are based on research and evidence-based methodologies that schools can basically identify and pick up on who can potentially be at risk to have dyslexia in order for the early intervention to kick in. This is number one. Number two is, while it's very good that we're able to identify early on, but you also need to ensure within your school team you also have the right qualified people to be able to then do intervention that is research and evidence-based, because a one-size-fits-all with these kids cannot work. You know, there's this literature that talks about balanced literacy as opposed to structured literacy, and this is what needs to change. The science of reading needs to kick in into our education system in order for us to be able to help these kids. And, interestingly enough, this approach of teaching dyslexic kids can work for even regular readers, you know, because it's just a different way of teaching.
Speaker 3:What does that involve teaching? What does that involve? It is basically it involves teaching decoding, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, in a very different approach. Obviously, you know, I don't come from an education background. I've employed qualified people who do that, but basically it could be anything from applying structured programs such as the Orton, gilligan, barton, wilson. But then you know, like, actually this is an interesting story, when I started my journey in trying to establish the various literacy programs for our students, my research really focused on the US and as I matured over the years, I realized, you know, there are different approaches that are out there in the world, you know, such as the UK holistic approach or the Australian or the Singaporean, and all this has to basically look into structured literacy, structured literacy and multisensory instruction, and in order for us to be able to create those pathways in these kids' brain, for them to be able to read better and learn to basically then learn comprehension and writing and spelling and so on and so forth.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you hinted at something just now. You said you know that's not your background. What's your background?
Speaker 3:Okay, so in my past life I was an executive in the financial institution, working for one of the top tier banks here in the UAE in the audit profession, leading basically about 50 individuals across 22 countries auditing global markets, risk compliance and international audits.
Speaker 2:Wow, how have you found the change? How have you managed that change?
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 3:So over the years, because of my leadership skills and my education background, I have a master's in strategy.
Speaker 3:I was able to employ that background in order for me to be able to, you know, collaborate, network and build relationships and find the right people for me to be able to drive the business drive the business.
Speaker 3:So when I started my journey because I didn't have that education background the same provider who helped my son in his remediation I decided to employ an outsourced model for me to be able to go through a learning journey. And then, when I decided to leave my full-time executive job because I just felt that it was time for me to embark into a social impact venture that was more meaningful and purposeful at the stage of life where I am at, I revamped my entire strategy and I employed a different operating model, because a one size fits all doesn't work. The model that I currently have is I employ freelancers who work across the globe, trained in different research and evidence-based methodologies and programs, and that has worked well in terms of what I can offer to parents, in terms of the different mix and match according to the learning profile of the kids, and, at the same time, each of these individuals who I employ work in the special education field, so they're able to learn from each other and impart knowledge within their own countries.
Speaker 2:So when you get a student, what is your role in that student's academic life? What do you do for them?
Speaker 3:Sure. So what we do is we try to understand the background of the child in terms of developmental milestones and if they've done any diagnostic evaluation through an educational psychologist, we go through that to check into any underlying cognitive challenges and what have you. And if the parent doesn't have and wish to have that official diagnostic evaluation, we also offer that through qualified assessors with the British Dyslexia Association. But having done that, we then go through a consultation with the parent understand what are their concerns, where their child is in terms of their learning journey, any support intervention that they've received. Upon doing that, we personalize everything to the child. So what we do is, before we start identifying what are the targets and the areas of concerns to work with the child, we do a pre-intervention placement assessment that looks into the building blocks of literacy or numeracy, because our area of specialization is dyslexia and dyscalculia and after that we employ, you know, nonstandard informal assessments. That throws at us the targets that are to be worked with the child, usually within a three to four month window.
Speaker 3:We align with the parent in terms of any other targets that they wish for us to work with them in terms of behavioral, because a lot of barriers with these kids has to do with their social emotional barriers over time because of the lack of confidence that they've had and fear of failure and what have you. So we integrate that. We then meet with the school to align with the school's individual education plan if the child already has one for in-school and out-of-school support, and then we basically match the student with the right specialist depending on their need, and then one-on-one intervention happens with the child. Usually we recommend twice a week, and this is all online using a very interactive platform that is interest-driven. It is super important for us to know what are the child's interests and we try to introduce and drive the learning through his interest using multisensory instructions. And we try to introduce and drive the learning through his interest using multisensory instructions, and by multisensory instructions we're talking about kinesthetic, visual audio as well as verbal.
Speaker 2:So a parent can be anywhere and tap into these resources? Is what you're saying?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. One of the key reasons why I've decided also to go with the online model is because of the limited qualified specialists that we have in the region, within the country, including, you know, the fact that not a lot of people are keen on moving locations. What I've offered parents is the ability to connect with people who are qualified across the globe, having, you know, been exposed to different approaches.
Speaker 2:That makes sense actually and it actually makes it quite accessible. I want to shift gears a little bit to talk about, because you mentioned quite a bit about the fact that we don't have the level of resources here for students with dyscalculia or dyslexia. But this region has a lot of resources, so why is it that there aren't, in your estimation, enough resources in this particular area?
Speaker 3:Okay, actually, you know. So, lisa, this is something interesting. This is not just unique to this region, you know, within, globally, as I've explored and tried to identify. You know, how is it that each country addresses these issues? I think the main issue is the teacher's training within the education system itself, in terms of the teacher's training needs to be revamped into employing the science of reading and structured literacy Because, rightly said, the value delivery is today, entities like myself shouldn't exist. Teachers should be qualified enough to be able to know the bare minimum in terms of how to teach children who need to be taught differently. So one of the key things, the mission that Distinct Learners is on, is to transform the special education by also working with the universities in the country, you know, be it at a graduate or a postgraduate level, or even as a professional development, to equip teachers, you know, to have some type of skill sets, to be able to identify dyslexia and dyscalculia, early warning signals, and then also to be able to teach these children.
Speaker 2:That's interesting. I'm trying to think back to my teacher training days. I didn't really get much training on. Did I get any? I don't think I got any training on dyslexia I think later on because I'm a teacher of languages I think later on I did some courses on dyslexia. I did nothing on dyscalculia. Talk to me about dyscalculia. What is it and how do we identify it in students?
Speaker 3:Okay, so dyscalculia is an area that we've embarked on newly, as myself, so I don't have much information to be quite honest on how. But it's basically kids who struggle with math operations as simple as even reading the clock. You know they can't get their head around probability, percentage math operations and what have you. I won't be able to give much insights in that area, to be quite honest, because I immerse myself into the dyslexia world, but it's alarming signals should be that a child who is, even because there's a fine line between math anxiety, dyscalculia and numeracy developmental issues, it has to basically anything to do with addition, subtraction, even at a higher grade, not being able to basically even solve a basic math problem.
Speaker 2:In terms of that? I know you don't have all the specifics, but do you see an increase in numbers of students who are presenting with dyscalculia?
Speaker 3:Yeah and OK. So you'll have two kinds of students. You'll have those students who have dyslexia and will face challenges with math because of the literacy element that is involved in math, you know, especially when you've got word problems and what have you. So you have those kids and then, unlike dyslexia, which has received attention for a while now, dyscocolia is starting to pick up pace, because we don't even have universal statistics of what the dyscolic rate is. I think it's trending around 7%. So dyscocolia slowly has started picking up attention as a learning difference as opposed to dyslexia. Having said that, it's super important because you need to be able to do your basic maths to be able to survive. Can you imagine even paying and being able to make sure that you got the right change? You know? As simple as that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. I mean I have to be honest, like in school, I wasn't the greatest math student, but I think a lot of it comes down to how mathematics was taught to me, because I do love figures and I and you can't rob me is what I say you cannot rob me, I know how to check, but I just think it's just down to how I was taught mathematics. I just think it's just down to how I was taught mathematics and I think I just probably developed a bit of a dislike for it. I don't think I had anxiety around it, I just think I just didn't like the thing. I'm quite a literate person. I love language. Obviously I'm a writer, so goes without saying. But coming down to the tail end of this chat, I want to know what your goals are and and what you hope to see develop in this region. Like, where do you want it to all go?
Speaker 3:sure.
Speaker 3:So my number one priority is to raise awareness and remove the stigma and the taboo. You know. Have more parents be able to identify the early warning signs, because you will not believe how some parents just you know hold their breath and hope that it'll go away. Dyslexia stays with you for life. You know. It's at a continuum. You will be able to just you know empower your kids with the right skill sets for them to be able to survive in society kids with the right skill sets for them to be able to survive in society. So the level of awareness really needs to increase in terms of what is dyslexia.
Speaker 3:Early intervention is also an area that we're hugely promoting, because the earlier you can catch it, the earlier you can do the intervention and you can close the gap. Because, can you imagine when you start getting students at the age of 15, when they're dealing with the curriculum? If you cannot read clearly, you cannot learn, you cannot access the curriculum you know. And at 15, while, yes, we can try and help in terms of building the child's fluency in order for him to be able to comprehend, the challenge is that child will feel a complete failure, you know. So early intervention is another key area that we're trying to drive. What we're hoping also is to empower educators, so the more schools basically invest in getting the right people, the right training, even, you know, launching the right type of curriculum for their students in the reading and numeracy space, that will help the mass. We're also looking in future, to be able to run certain courses within the teacher training, like you mentioned, because this is where the transformation will happen. This is where the value delivery is.
Speaker 3:We're hoping that we can have a regional dyslexia association, similar to what we have in the US. You've got the International Dyslexia association, similar to what we have, you know, in the US You've got the International Dyslexia Association and drive the research in this area, because the more research we have, the more statistics we have. This will drive attention in terms of what is the impact of not addressing dyslexia and its impact on literacy, on, you know, the economic development of the country, the ability of people to join the workforce, the behavioral and social and developmental impact. I think you know in our earlier call was it you that I mentioned to you that there was a study I came across in Kuwait, done sometime in 2016, where it uncovered that 18% of the inmates had undiagnosed dyslexia. Yeah, you know. So this is what we're trying to drive also research into this area, because we truly believe that if we're able to drive early intervention, empower these kids to reach their potential. There's so much, you know, contribution that can be made from these amazing learners.
Speaker 2:Brilliant. Thank you for being on the podcast, Rehab.
Speaker 3:Thanks. Thanks, Lisa, for having me.
Speaker 2:You are most welcome.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Teach Middle East podcast. Visit our website teachmiddleeastcom and follow us on social media. The links are in the show notes.
