Danelle was not making progress in school. Her work tempo was painfully slow. In 2000 her Grade 2 teacher complained that Danelle’s attention fluctuated to such an extent that she was often unable to complete instructions that other pupils were able to complete in minutes. It took Danelle 90 minutes to finish mathematical worksheets, which the average pupil was able to finish in 30 minutes. By the end of Grade 2 she was still writing simple sentences with a limited vocabulary. According to her year-end report Danelle did not comply with Grade 2 requirements.
In March 2001, just after starting with Audiblox, Danelle was taken to a psychologist, who determined that her intellectual abilities fell in the “Mild Mental Retardation” category. He recommended that she attend a special class and later a special school.
Danelle’s parents, however, decided against special education and enrolled her in a Brainline micro school, while her teacher, Marinda Smith, continued with individual Audiblox tutoring, doing three lessons per week of one hour each.
By the end of 2001 Danelle’s concentration and work tempo had improved tremendously and she was now able to write proper sentences. She passed Grade 3 with an aggregate of 60%, and was promoted to Grade 4. Math is still a weak point, which Marinda will continue to address in 2002.
Susan du Plessis Case study author
