Decoding skills, rapid automatised naming and dyslexia screening methods in Malaysia

Dyslexia is a learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Besides, it typically results from a phonological awareness deficit, leading to difficulties with word identification, spelling, and decoding. Dyslexia could lead to secondary consequences such as reading comprehension problems, reduced reading experience, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Recent research has provided strong evidence that congenital brain abnormalities, such as the impaired magnocellular system, play a crucial role in dyslexia. Nonetheless, since 2011, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE), via its Special Education Division, has defined learning disability as pertaining to individuals with similar or higher intellectual functioning in relation to typical students of similar age yet experiencing profound difficulty in spelling, reading, and writing. This definition fails to capture the current findings on dyslexia, and the shortcoming is evident in the question design of the Instrumen Senarai Semak Disleksia (ISD), the dyslexia checklist instrument currently used by MOE for screening students at risk of dyslexia at the entry level of primary schools. The inaccuracy in the definition adopted by MOE may further hinder an accurate understanding of dyslexia among Malaysians. In light of this, this paper aims to explain dyslexia and discuss the associated theories. This paper will review dyslexia screening methods in Malaysia and other countries as well as explain the importance of decoding skills and Rapid Automatised Naming (RAN) using the model of Simple View of Reading (SVR), advocating for increased emphasis on decoding skills and Rapid Automatised Naming in the ISD as a conclusion.