Reading and learning are the two things that determine the success of a child during his school career. First he learns to read. Then he reads to learn. Reading is therefore of paramount importance in the educational process.
For children with reading disabilities, going to school can be a nightmare. Behaviour problems often result from their negative experiences at school.
The stress and frustration they have to endure as a result of their poor achievement cause them to be reluctant to go to school, to often have temper tantrums before school and sometimes even to play truant.
Cheating, stealing and experimenting with drugs can also occur when children regard themselves as failures.
Reading disabilities turned school into a nightmare for Ettienne van As. However, unlike many other children, he received successful help at an early age, thereby preventing him from suffering permanent damage to his self-esteem.
Ettienne, who was a Grade 1 pupil at the Dalview Primary School in Brakpan, very soon started showing signs of severe school problems.
There was great concern about this seven-year-old boy at the school. When his IQ was tested, it proved to be equal to that of a four-year-old child. He could not concentrate at all in a class situation and after some months he still could not read at all. He had great difficulty recognizing letters like b, d, p, r and y. He could only count to 20 and showed very weak auditory skills. He had problems with any tasks that required fine motor control, like writing, coloring and cutting with scissors. His language development was behind and he showed no interest in schoolwork.
Ettienne’s parents were advised to see Dr Jan Strydom of the Centre for Dyslexia in Pretoria. An appointment was arranged for 11 June. During this interview Ettienne’s problems were discussed in detail. It was clear that fairly drastic measures were called for to overcome his problems.
Dr Strydom advised that Ettienne be taken out of school for some time, so that his mother could work fulltime with him on the Audiblox program.
Mrs Van As received the necessary training on Audiblox and also paid regular follow-up visits, in order to adjust the program in accordance with Ettienne’s progress.
Ettienne returned to school six weeks later, on 22 July. His mother continued to work with him on Audiblox every afternoon.
The teachers were very excited about the “new” Ettienne! His school report at the end of the school year was more than adequate compensation for all the hard work — not only did Ettienne pass, he also received a very good mark for reading and received a bronze merit award for school achievement. The comment on his report speaks for itself: A VERY MOTIVATED READER!
An example of Ettienne’s schoolwork just before he started on Audiblox. Only 5 words were spelled correctly. The rest of the words were completely meaningless. Although only people who are familiar with Afrikaans can fully appreciate this example, the letter inconsistencies and difficulty to write on the line can be appreciated by all.
An example of Ettienne’s schoolwork two months after starting with Audiblox. An excellent improvement!
