Deborah is the Deputy Director of Special Projects and Executive and Mentor of Publicity and Publications at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore.
She has been with DAS since May 2011. Deborah has dyslexia and is passionate about raising awareness about learning differences. All three of her children have learning differences and as a result, she has spent most of the last 20 years supporting her children’s academic careers as well as helping other families with children who have learning differences. Deborah has lived in Singapore since 2001 and she has devoted the first 10 years working in an International School as a Learning Support Assistant and parent volunteer supporting students who learn differently with math, reading and literacy. She has also worked as a shadow assistant for students with behavioural issues, ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome.
Deborah completed her Psychology honours degree at the Singapore University of Social Sciences and her thesis was titled “Adolescents with learning disabilities: an investigation of academic self‐concept, self‐esteem and depression in International school students.” Deborah graduated from the University of South Wales with a Master’s in Special Education Needs with Merit in 2019. Her dissertation researched “Singaporean Entrepreneurs and Dyslexia”
Deborah is the Managing Editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences and the annual DAS Handbook, and editor of the DAS FACETS and RETA Chronicles magazines. In 2015, she edited the first book of its kind in Singapore, “Embrace a Different Kind of Mind—Personal Stories of Dyslexia” and in 2017 designed and published the 25th-anniversary book for DAS, “Clearly Different-Dyscovering the Differences”
QUALIFICATIONS
- Master of Special Education Needs (Merit), University of South Wales
- Bachelor of Science, Psychology (Hons), Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
- Specialist Certificate in Visual Communication, NAFA, Singapore
- Certificate in Dyslexia and Literacy Teaching, DAS Academy Singapore
- Certificate in Understanding Dyslexia, DAS Academy Singapore
- Unit Trust Taxation & Administration Certificates, Securities Institute of NSW, Australia
Deborah’s personal story can be found in Embrace a Different Kind of Mind.
PUBLICATIONS
- “I grew up with dyslexia, and so did my three children” Article in “The Pride” April 2021
- Entrepreneurship, Dyslexia, and Education Chapter 3 – Dyslexia, Entrepreneurship and Education in Singapore by Deborah Hewes and Geetha Shantha Ram 2021
- Entrepreneurs with Dyslexia in Singapore: The Incidence, Their Educational Experiences, and Their Unique Attributes APJDD, Vol.7 No. 2, July 2020
- “Being a mother of a child with dyslexia” DAS BLOG – DAS NEWS – 2021
- “Is Dyslexia a Desirable Difficulty?” DAS Handbook 2018 (pg 255)
- Embrace a Different Kind of Mind, 2015
- Editor of FACETS, DAS Quarterly Magazine
- Editor of RETA CHRONICLES, RETA Annual Magazine
- Managing Editor of DAS HANDBOOK, Annual Publication
- Managing Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences, Biannual Publication
- “Moving to Singapore and the Challenges of Transition” in Voices of Mothers of Children with Dyslexia Edited by Shawn Anthony Robinson (2019)
- “How Parents Can Help” article in FACETS Vol 2 2016 pg 54
- “Unforgettable” article in FACETS Vol. 2 2014 pg 82
- “Are you giving a child with Learning Differences a Chance to Shine?” article in FACETS Vol.3 2013 pg 71
- “Exam Fever: What parents can do to help their children through the exam experience” article in FACETS Vol.1 2013 pg 60
Every child deserves a champion; an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.
Rita Pierson, Teacher
