WHEN Shun Matsuzuka was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 19, he was pursuing his foundation year at art school in the UK. It came as a total shock to him. As a child he enjoyed learning, but could not quite understand why his grades did not reflect his efforts or his curiousity in learning.
“That discovery at age 19 proved significant, as it helped me understand that my challenges were not due to lack of ability but rather a different way of processing information. It changed how I saw myself and later how I supported others facing similar struggles,” said Shun, who made the decision to move to Malaysia in 2017. He had worked as creative director for a global advertising agency in Japan.
It was also a pivotal moment for Shun when he became a father. He preferred his daughter to grow up in a diverse environment, which Malaysia offered, due to its multicultural identity and culture.
When his daughter turned 3 years, Shun received a government issued notice from Japan for a standardised developmental check-up in Japan for her. This he then realised was the missing gap in Malaysia, where there was no systematic developmental screening for children in the crucial ages of 3 to 5 years.
