This article appeared in Kids in Perth in Australia in 2003:
Despite having adequate intelligence and opportunity, many children show great disparity between their verbal skills and learning ability.
These children, often regarded as ‘learning disabled,’ are now being offered new hope through the Audiblox learning system.
The programme was introduced to Australia by Corna Wynne and is widely used all over the world.
“It is primarily a programme for dyslexics but it can be used to improve anyone’s learning skills, Ms Wynne said.
“I am using it for my own children too. Both children are having fun facing the challenges the programme presents.”
According to Ms Wynne, no two dyslexics are alike, though they often share some common features:
- Difficulty in learning to read despite obviously adequate intelligence and opportunity.
- Difficulty in learning to spell.
- Poor and very slow handwriting.
- Difficulty in distinguishing left from right.
- Difficulty in arranging things in correct sequence.
In learning to recognise a reading or spelling problem, Ms Wynne believes one of the most common telltale sign is ‘reversals.’ For example, confusing the letters b and d.
“Then there are ‘elisions.’ These occur when a child writes or reads a word like “cat” when the actual word is ‘cart,’” she said.
“Another indication of a reading problem is when the child’s reading lacks fluency so that he or she hesitates, loses the place, leaves out chunks or reads the same passage twice.”
Reading with poor comprehension and jumbling the order of letters so that ‘left’ is read as ‘felt’ are also part of the inability pattern.
Ms Wynne believes the learning process involves two important considerations: The learning process is a stratified one, and one must build a ‘pyramid of repetition.’
It follows, therefore, that certain skills must be mastered before the child can become a better reader.
To become a skilled reader, four sub-skills must be developed:
- Concentration;
- Perception;
- Memory; and
- Decoding skills.
Audiblox caters for all four aspects and more, and can be used from pre-primary stage to adulthood.
Until a year ago nine-year-old Jake from Mullaloo had great difficulties at school with spelling and reading, and his ability to concentrate was lacking. Within a year of doing Audiblox, Jake was able to read with confidence and can spell much easier than before. His mother is pleased that Jake’s teacher can see a big improvement.
David, one of Corna’s students, was presented with the merit certificate of ‘Most Improved Student’ in his school at the end of last semester.
“We understand from his teacher that he is a more confident child and that his reading, spelling and maths have improved by ‘leaps and bounds’,” David’s mother said.
Classes are very structured and students are tutored in small groups, with the advantage that they learn to concentrate amidst minor distractions. Fees are reasonable ($10 per one-hour session) in order to reach as many students as possible.
For information on Audiblox classes and products contact Corna Wynne on 08-XXXXXX or visit www.XXXXXX.com. Tutors are available in Duncraig, Whitfords, Karrinyup, Craigie, Swan Valley and more.
Corna Wynne can also be contacted about certification training to become an Audiblox Tutor.
Mark Beech, whose schooling consisted of learning mainly basic life skills, is now able to read AND comprehend The Bourne Identity, the first book he has ever read.
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