Deborah Hewes
I am Deborah Hewes and I have dyslexia.
I am the mother of three children with learning differences. I moved to Singapore 20 years ago with my husband. I have a Psychology Honours degree and a Master’s in Special Needs Education. I am currently working as an Assistant Director of Publicity and Publications at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS).
Schooling Experiences
Common for adults, I really didn't know that I had dyslexia and only found out when my children got diagnosed with learning difficulties.
“Back then, at school, nothing was said about learning differences. I just felt that I wasn’t smart enough but at the same time, I could understand things quickly.”
However, when I had to write to demonstrate my knowledge, I wouldn’t be able to do it right. Often, I would answer in the opposite way such as either misreading a “not” in the sentence or miss out seeing the “not”.
When I was young, spelling and dictation were a challenge. I would spell “sing” instead of “sign” and get teased by my peers. In high school, I felt that I couldn’t remember everything required for tests. While I didn’t have low self-esteem, the ‘I’m just not smart enough’ thoughts were constant. I went to university despite failing chemistry and physics. However, I felt out of my league and decided to drop out, much to my father's disappointment.
Career Beginnings
Two days later, I secured an administration job in an insurance company. Over the next 16 years, I progressed within the company and became a business systems analyst. I had a lot of mentors and a very successful career. The company constantly gave me opportunities to prove myself and promoted me to higher responsibilities.
One highlight is winning the company’s annual global IT award. Our project enabled our business unit to be paperless, cutting edge back in 1997. I was one of five women amongst 100 odd IT specialists who flew to the Netherlands for the ceremony. It was an amazing experience to be internationally validated.
Further Education at SUSS
After leaving my previous career and coming to Singapore, I worked as a volunteer in the Learning Support Programme of an international school for 10 years. I had very good mentors who helped me to understand what it's like to teach kids with learning differences. I also volunteered with the Parents Association group. However, after 10 years of volunteering, I realised that to be able to get a paid job, or a teaching job, I needed to have a degree.
I therefore pursued a Psychology degree through the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). I recalled thinking, ‘This is the scariest thing of my life.’ It turned out that I loved studying and felt validated. Although I still didn't get many distinctions, I did well to be invited to do honours, which I am very proud of.
“My work experiences and confidence in my abilities helped me to enjoy SUSS. And this success gave me the courage to further my studies and undertake my Masters degree, something I thought I would never accomplish.”
Joining DAS
Relationships that I've built with people, like the former CEO of the Dyslexia Association, have also paved the way for me to work in DAS, which I have been with for 11 years and counting. I look after its publicity and publications and am very invested in the cause. DAS is an inspiring company with incredibly passionate people who want to help those who struggle to learn.
Strengths & Success Strategies
With the reading, I was very selective and asked my lecturers to help guide me. When writing assignments, I would use text-to-speech to listen to my essay for errors. Making lists is important and I always made sure that I have my notepad to write everything down. I'm not very well organised so I get my staff to ensure that I'm in the right place at the right time. They give me a lot of reminders and help me to keep a good diary. All this takes the pressure off me.
“One of my strengths is being able to question the status quo, problem-solve, make quick decisions and find a good solution.”
I also have pretty good spatial awareness. I can see in my designs when something isn’t balanced well or is just 1mm out.
Passion and Energy at Work
At DAS, the people are amazing. They are creative, passionate and invigorating. The smile on the kids attending DAS tells it all. These kids are engaged, adore their teachers and love DAS despite having to attend it after their regular school. At their school, they are being singled out for support elsewhere. Here, they are in class with kids just like them. I encourage you to have a look at the YouTube videos that we create for their graduation. Each year, I look forward to hearing what the kids have to say about their aspirations and learning at DAS. These interviews are the work of heart for me and my team.
I have a wonderful young creative team. I love working with young people because I think that I can help them develop. It’s important that they have a good experience for their first job and I think that I provide that. I'm a mentor and allow them to run free. They're a wonderful bunch of girls who emulate what the organisation is about — the work of heart.
Misconceptions about Dyslexia
“Actually, a lot of people don’t understand dyslexia.”
This is especially for adults who get confused when I tell them that I am dyslexic. They think that there’s nothing wrong with me based on our interaction and my accomplishments. However, they don’t know that there were many hurdles that I had to jump over to get to this point.
Dyslexia is a learning difference that is brain-based in origin and affects reading, writing, and spelling. It is also associated with auditory processing problems which affect the way we process the sound of words. It causes our brain to “mishear” and that makes learning challenging. People have commented that I’m deaf even though I have nothing wrong with my hearing. It depends on how much attention I’m paying. Sometimes, I really have to “tune in” to make sure that I get the meaning. Listening can be highly cognitive for me and sometimes that is really exhausting!
Ultimately, it is important to know that dyslexia is experienced differently for everyone and secondary differences such as memory and organisation deficits, attention and coordination issues, will create different learning concerns. In addition, dyslexia can also be diagnosed with other specific learning differences too, like ADHD!
Advice to My Younger Self
There were so many strategies that I had, to learn things. It felt overwhelming having to remember how to spell and do certain things. But I think I wouldn't do anything differently looking back, except read more! I would also probably have said to myself to continue to believe in myself, and know that I’m smart. However, I don't think it would have changed anything for me, because I have a very strong and loving family who believed in me.
Parenting Children with Learning Differences
At my age, I think a diagnosis wouldn’t be as helpful since I already know my strengths and weaknesses. For young people, diagnosis is important because they are still learning who they are and will benefit from help to cultivate their strengths and address their challenges.
“The advice that I would give to parents with dyslexic children is to recognise and nurture your children’s strengths. With that, their future will be secured.”
When we identified that my son was very good with spatial awareness, we designed his future career around this and what he liked — design technology. My daughter was exceptional at drama, and she did a degree in performing arts. She also has a Master’s in special educational needs and is now a primary school drama teacher. My eldest has a double degree in law and English. She's living her passion in Tanzania, and working for a school that employs, educates and supports the poor.
Towards Inclusive Schools & Workplaces
“The paper and pen tests in school have to go. Alternative modes of assessments should be allowed.”
For example, students should be given project-driven assignments and be allowed to present using PowerPoint, essays, videos or whatever creative ways they choose.
“In the workplace, we must play to our employees’ strengths and allow them to do the things that they are good at!”
We should employ people to do the work that they specialise in and if required, employ someone else to complete any gaps. At the same time, we should also support our people’s weaknesses, by giving them extra training or a different way of doing things.
What I know about dyslexia is that the struggle is real. Getting through school is hard, but with nurturing educators and family, those who put in the hard work will get to study at higher levels. When they eventually get into the workforce, they can FLY!! And they FLY very high. We just have to get them there!
