Thammasat devises better test for childhood learning disabilities

By The Nation

 

 

TO HELP Thailand battle illiteracy and improve screening for learning disabilities among children, Thammasat University’s School of Engineering (TSE) has developed an innovative computer program that can yield results in 30 minutes with 95-per-cent accuracy.
 

Noo Khor An (Kids Wish to Read), a user-friendly program compatible with tablets and smartphones, is helpful in identifying children’s learning problems stemming from heredity or brain disorder. 

 

Academics estimate that up to 40,000 Thai newborns a year are afflicted, said Jaturong Tantibundit, a lecturer in electrical and computer engineering at TSE. 

 

 

The program can screen children as young as 6 – two years younger than was previously possible with other similar programs. 

 

The TSE faculty and Chutamanee Onsuwan, a lecturer in the university’s Department of English and Linguistics, developed Noo Khor An.

 

The early detection of learning disabilities is crucial in enabling timely intervention and effective management. Children can be taught how to compensate for any slowness in learning and educators can set out appropriate study programmes so youngsters can keep up with their peers. 

There are three main types of learning disabilities.

 

Dyslexia hampers the ability to read. Common signs include difficulty in associating or recognising sounds to match letters of the alphabet, difficulty sounding out words, problems in understanding and using words, and poor spelling. 

 

Dyslexic children often resort to guessing which word is correct and only learn to read out words with which they’re familiar. By relying on memory rather than spelling out words, they struggle to read and cannot grasp the gist of stories.

 

Dysgraphia affects handwriting and other fine motor skills. Common signs include illegible writing, difficulty writing letters of the alphabet, inconsistency in spacing out words, and having trouble with sentence structure and the rules of grammar when writing. 

 

Sufferers have trouble organising or articulating their thoughts on paper, and yet are able to copy words. Letters and numbers might be written backwards or upside down. 

 

Dyscalculia causes difficulty in arithmetical calculations. Common signs include trouble comprehending number-related concepts or in using mathematics symbols or functions, difficulty in reciting numbers, difficulty linking numbers and symbols to amounts and directions, and difficulty in remembering the multiplication table.

 

It’s possible for a child to have all three types of disabilities. 

 

Limitations in screening persist in Thailand due to various factors. These include misunderstanding among teachers and parents, lack of access to corrective care because screening experts are in short supply, and the fact that currently available test sets, which are usually translated from foreign languages, have their own limitations. 

 

It is estimated that 40,000 of the 800,000 children born in Thailand every year could have one or more learning disabilities, and the most common type here is dyslexia. 

 

Boys are believed to be four times more likely to have a learning disability than are girls.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364681

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-25

3 hours ago, webfact said:

educators can set out appropriate study programmes so youngsters can keep up with their peers.

All well and good but the reality is that (in the public system anyway) in a class of 40+ students the students with learning disabilities are largely forgotten which continues throughout their schooling. These students are often seen as the roots of lotus plant buried in the mud having no chance of becoming the flower (the top students) and thus not worthy of the teacher's (the light of learning) attention. I kid you not. Some famous monk said this somewhere in the past and many teachers use this nonsense as guidence.????

5 hours ago, webfact said:

It is estimated that 40,000 of the 800,000 children born in Thailand every year could have one or more learning disabilities, and the most common type here is dyslexia. 

If the new method to detect learning disabilities will reveal realistic figures, the result will be kept as a state secret. The publisher will probably be prosecuted for threatening national security and undermining the attempt to recruit coolie's for future EEC projects.

"The program can screen children as young as 6 – two years younger than was previously possible with other similar programs. "

 

anyone with a pinch of common sense can do that by end of P.1....the kid either can or cant read.

a 1 min traditional test: sit down,and read from this page. 

so, where should i apply for a government research grant???

14 hours ago, dinsdale said:

All well and good but the reality is that (in the public system anyway) in a class of 40+ students the students with learning disabilities are largely forgotten which continues throughout their schooling. These students are often seen as the roots of lotus plant buried in the mud having no chance of becoming the flower (the top students) and thus not worthy of the teacher's (the light of learning) attention. I kid you not. Some famous monk said this somewhere in the past and many teachers use this nonsense as guidence.????

 

Not so IME. My son has severe physical disabilities. Both schools he's attended have a special class for children with disabilities and learning difficulties. In both they had two teachers permanently allocated to the class and additional teacher aides. The teachers regularly, minimum 1-3 days a month, attend training and seminars. Assessment are carried out regularly by the local administration. All the teachers doing this that I've met so far a really excellent and committed. The class size has varied from 12-20, but never more than 20.

 

The Thai association has good relationships with overseas equivalent associations.

 

Not perfect but much much better, IME, than the picture you paint.

Edited February 25, 20197 yr by Baerboxer

11 hours ago, tingtong said:

"The program can screen children as young as 6 – two years younger than was previously possible with other similar programs. "

 

anyone with a pinch of common sense can do that by end of P.1....the kid either can or cant read.

a 1 min traditional test: sit down,and read from this page. 

so, where should i apply for a government research grant???

 

The world of education has been missing your inherent genius.

 

Let us know how your theories are received when peer reviewed.