Sú-Mari was born with hydronephrosis (a kidney dysfunction with blockage etc.) and had three operations by the time she was six months old. During this time she was on morphine for about seven weeks. This had a tremendous effect on her development, especially her co-ordination and eyes.
Only after a year in school, her two teachers told me that they didn’t want her to go to the next grade. I remember that my child got quieter and drawn back as the year progressed, but I could never understand why. I’m sad to say, the teachers didn’t care enough to notice a problem; they’d rather resulted to suggestions that she was not intelligent and couldn’t do Math or read properly. Now I understood the ‘change in her personality’ — it was emotional trauma. We as her family knew she was very intelligent, because she had the ability to remember things, in order, quicker and better than anyone else in our family of five, even though she is the youngest.
After many private tests, I was notified that there was a problem with her eyes and other areas of development. I was told that she is 3-4 years behind in both physical and emotional development, mostly as a result of the medical condition, surgeries, morphine, two and a half years on antibiotics, together with the negative comments from the teachers that brought emotional damage along.
Needless to say, the damage had been done. Six months later I started homeschooling to try and undo the teachers’ excellent work of breaking my child and letting her believe she is ‘dumb and stupid’ and won’t ever be able to do anything correctly.
After three years the emotional damage was dealt with, but I knew from the reading she had to do with me, that I still had a problem and not enough knowledge to correct it. Most of the time she couldn’t read 2-3 words after each other, as she took much time to sound out every word. This resulted that, by the end of a sentence, she had no idea what she had read. She couldn’t answer questions about anything she’d read. We had to re-do everything over and over again. If I didn’t read the applicable passage to her, she just couldn’t do the work. She would also never try to read anything by herself.
A friend told me about Susan at Edublox and the excellent results they had with their daughter.
At the first tests with Susan, it was clear that she had no reading skills, less than a Grade 1 level. Although shocked at these results, I had her started with classes immediately, in October 2011.
In the last year, she has started reading all her work without my help. She now comprehends what she is reading. I’m no longer asked to help her with almost every word; it is only an occasional word now and then, and mostly new ones.
Her spelling has improved tremendously and her handwriting has become much neater. That ‘don’t care’ attitude has been replaced with a child who is trying very hard to be neat, and I can see that she is getting prouder and prouder of her accomplishments. The b’s and d’s are not so often turned around anymore and she also doesn’t ‘mirror image’ her letters, numbers and words anymore. Being four years behind, she has done two years (24 months) of work in 14 months and is positive to do another two years in this year.
Suddenly I can see that bright, positive child emerging again. She is feeling that she CAN DO IT! Wow, that is so awesome for me as her mom! Her report is excellent.
Thank you, Edublox, Susan and team. It is so good to have a positive child that knows that she will make it, also in reading, back.
Be blessed.
Cecelia J. Meyer-de Wet
 |