INTERNATIONAL SESSION

Head of DAS International and Programme Director of School-based Programmes

Ms Anaberta Oehlers-Jaen started her career at the DAS in 2005 as an Educational Therapist and has since held various portfolios. For 4 years, she was the Preschool Manager of the DAS Preschool Service and was actively involved with children at risk of literacy delay and helped to launch the service at DAS. She assumed the position of Head of DAS International in 2011 in order to support both the local and expatriate international community of students, who may be experiencing learning differences through Specialist tutoring and Assessments. In her role as Maths Programme Director in 2014, Anaberta has presented at International conferences delivered in Singapore, ASEAN region and the UK.

She is also actively involved in research and has published articles in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Developmental Differences. She holds a Masters Degree in Special Needs from NTU, BA( English Language and Literature) from SUSS, a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the London Metropolitan University as well as a Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers (Dyslexia), along with Early Childhood Diplomas. She is also a qualified trainer with the Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) by the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ). She has Fellow status at RETA, Register of Educational Therapists (Asia) and is also a Senior Educational Therapist. Delivering a professional service to the families of students with Specific Learning Differences is high on her priority and hopes to continue to serve this community both in Singapore and the region.

Director of Specialised Educational Services (SES) at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore

Edmen has been with the DAS since 2010. He served as an Educational Therapist, Programme Manager as well as an Assistant Director before assuming the post of Director of Specialised Educational Services (SES) on the 1st of January 2019. As Director of SES, Edmen oversees a range of programmes including the Preschool, Speech and Language Therapy, Math, Chinese, Prep 2 PSLE and Speech and Drama Arts programmes. He has also pioneered the development of Short Term Programmes and oversees student workshops that DAS conducts.

Edmen graduated from the University of Western Australia, Perth with a degree in Psychology prior to joining the DAS. He has since completed his Post-Graduate Certificate in Specific Learning Differences with London Metropolitan University and his Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics with the National Institute of Education Singapore where he won the book prize for being the top student in his cohort. Edmen is currently pursuing his PhD with an interest in the topic of reading motivation for struggling readers. He has presented in conferences and published papers on exam skills, curriculum development, reading comprehension and language testing.

Edmen strongly believes in unlocking the potential of every dyslexic learner and aims to empower educators and parents with sufficient knowledge and strategies to support struggling learners.

PhD Chair Professor of Child Development and Special Education

Dr CHUNG Kien Hoa Kevin is a Chair Professor of Child Development and Special Education and a Director of the Centre of Child and Family Science at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). He was the head of two departments: The Department of Early Childhood Education and Special Education and Counselling and also served as an Associate Dean (Research) at EdUHK. Kevin was a high school teacher before embarking on an academic career. His research focuses on dyslexia and learning disabilities, child and adult language and learning, and social-emotional development. He has published journal articles and book chapters and has produced learning and teaching products and software.

Kevin is a Vice President of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia, a Fellow of The Association for Psychological Science (APS), Fellow of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD), and a Voting Member of Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR). He serves on the editorial boards of professional journals. He was a Core Member of the 2018 International Reading Expert Group – Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) project and is a Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the PISA 2018 and PISA 2021 in Hong Kong. Kevin has offered advice to the Government Departments and Units of Education, NGOs, and funding agencies particularly in relation to the early years and specific learning difficulties (SpLD).

Founder and Managing Director of Global Educational Consultants (Egypt)

Dr Gad Elbeheri is the Founder and Managing Director of Global Educational Consultants (Egypt). Previously, Dr. Elbeheri was the Dean of the Australian College of Kuwait (2012/2017); the Executive Director for the Centre for Child Evaluation & Teaching (2006/2011) and a Dyslexia Country Expert (Kuwait) for the United Nations Development Programme.

Dr Elbeheri obtained his PhD from the University of Durham, UK and has a keen interest in cross-linguistic studies of Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities and Inclusion.

Dr Elbeheri has made over 50 conference and seminar presentations around the world. He has published over 15 books in both English and Arabic in the field of dyslexia, and many peer-reviewed journal articles on dyslexia and its manifestations in Arabic. He has participated in producing nationally standardized tests and computer-based screening programmes in Arabic.

School Principal - The Village Education International Centre

Harshi is the Founder and Principal of The Village International Education Centre. A highly respected Special Needs school in Thailand that has been supporting and developing children with special needs for over 20 years. A highly experienced and recognized educationist, Harshi has, over a career spanning 35 years, made significant contributions to the field of Special Needs in the UK and South East Asia. He has been instrumental in driving awareness of Neurodiversity through his approach which uses the child’s strengths to help them deal with their challenges. This positive, non-medical approach has been very successful as the students push themselves to rise to the higher expectations of their teachers and therapists.

His unique approach to holistically educate the child and work closely with the family has been pioneering and has helped in the development of tailor-made programs for children with different special needs.

Harsh, during his 25 years in Thailand has established strong working partnerships with International Schools in the region and local universities like Chulalongkorn & ABAC where is he also a guest lecturer.

President CORIS: Council of Reading Intervention Specialists - Philippines

Teacher Vic earned two of his three degrees in education from the University of the Philippines and one from the University of Melbourne. He is an actively practising reading specialist and is among the very few in the Philippines. He conducts reading assessments for children who have serious difficulties with learning to read. He was a faculty member of the UP College of Education, Reading Education Area and was also the Senior Educational Consultant of Scholastic Education. Currently, he is the School Director of The Builders’ School and a Middle Years Program Teacher for English and Filipino at The Beacon Academy. He is working with the Knowledge Channel to develop learning videos for early literacy development.

He works with reading intervention centres under the Council of Reading Intervention Specialists, an organization he founded with friends and is now its president. In addition, he is a member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People and has served two terms as the president of the Reading Association of the Philippines.