From: Debbie Hutt <DHutt@ch……..>
Sent: 08 November 2018 09:14 AM
To: Monique van Heerden <[email protected]>
Subject: Sarah’s progress
Hi Monique
Here is the email regarding Sarah’s progress since starting Edublox almost 2 years ago.
Red flags were raised in Grade 1 when Sarah was unable to remember her sight words. Already she had developed avoidance techniques when it came to reading and often “lost” the words that were sent home for practise.
By Grade 2, her barrier to reading, coupled with an attention deficit, really hampered her progress at school. It was recommended that Sarah undergo a full scholastic assessment at this time. The results showed a weakness in visual processing and visual sequencing along with other attention issues and working memory problems.
Sarah went into Grade 3, on Ritalin to help with attention. Her teacher in Grade 3 worked tirelessly to get her to grade level but she went into Grade 4 with the possibility of having to repeat. As you can imagine by this time anxiety was a huge issue too. Sore tummies, panic attacks were the norm.
At the beginning of Grade 4, Sarah started Edublox and visual therapy as vision issues were also diagnosed through the optometrist. While progress has been slow, it has been steady. In the beginning, Sarah found Edublox VERY hard as her brain started to form new pathways. In the last 18 months however, she has never complained about the three hours a week she spends there. While improvement and progress was noted in her first Grade 4 year, we decided to allow her to repeat Grade 4 in order to consolidate knowledge, build confidence and pretty much just breathe and find a love for learning.
This year (repeat of Grade 4) I have watched my child go from and E average to a C+ in almost all her subjects. I have seen the confidence in her ability blossom and the anxiety COMPLETELY disappear. She has since had a second scholastic assessment which now shows that previous weaknesses in visual memory and sequencing are now actually her strengths. She has now been diagnosed with a Specific Learning Disability (dyslexia). Sarah is determined, courageous and has managed with this SLD to almost reach the grade average in her overall results. In a school well regarded for academic excellence, and without accommodations, this is a fantastic feat. While her reading and spelling are still a weakness and below age level, she is able to read notes and questions in assessments. The fact that she even attempts it now is something!
Thank you, Monique and the Edublox team in Helderkruin.
Debbie Hutt
GRADE 5 TEACHER
Debbie Hunt Sarah's Mother
