Neo is a cheerful 11-year-old boy who enjoys art and music and has an intense interest in and obsession with dinosaurs. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in April 2017, a lifelong condition affecting his concentration and social interactions and manifested early in his speech delay. This prompted us to seek assistance, and we consulted with a number of professionals to assess and support Neo.
The most challenging reality we had to accept as Neo’s parents was that, while we knew he had an above-average aptitude in his preferred subject matter of dinosaurs, this did not translate to his schoolwork. The further he progressed in the foundation phase and beyond, the more his constraints became pronounced. As a result, we were always aware that if we did not send Neo to a special needs school as strongly advised by educational psychologists and therapists, he would be forced to do homeschooling or online education.
In 2021, while Neo was in Grade 4 and dealing with the introduction of more technical and academic subjects, adjusting to the addition of a class aide to help with concentration, and due to his continued inability to read for meaning, we began looking for alternative education. We came across Edublox by chance and made contact, and we were ecstatic with the method of teaching and processes explained after the initial interview with Anouska. Neo enrolled in October 2021 and attended three English classes per week, followed by a 10-day intensive course from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day during the school’s summer recess in January 2022. This intensive course prepared and accelerated Neo for Grade 5.
The effects of the Edublox sessions were immediate, as evidenced by his consistently good performance in English despite failing both term-1 and term-2 in Grade 5. However, his progress in English gradually helped him in other content subjects, resulting in Neo passing term-3 with an outstanding mark and receiving the school’s merit award for perseverance and persistence in all his work.
He has matured in so many ways in such a short period of time as a result of the discipline he has learned while attending Edublox. While Neo still needs an aide in class, he can now read and write with meaning. The fact that Edublox is online has also helped him with self-reliance because he connects on time and concentrates on lessons without supervision, which is unusual for a boy on the spectrum.
We gladly advise any parent with a child with learning problems to enroll with Edublox as soon as possible to change the foundations that will set the child up for a successful school life.
Tania and Thabang Monare
Tania and Thabang Monare Neo's Parents
