Tayden has struggled with mastering and retaining concepts from a very young age. We were already advised to move him to a remedial school when he was only in Grade R. He was at Livingstone Remedial School for Grades 1-3 and then transferred to Tafelberg Remedial School in Grade 4 when we moved. The school was concerned that Tayden was failing and recommended assessments.
Soon Tayden was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), anxiety disorder, and dyspraxia. The challenges with these diagnoses became a fundamental stumbling block for Tayden. Tafelberg School offered occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physiotherapy, which really helped to improve his gross and fine motor skills, as well as his anxiety. We saw his academic work improve significantly, particularly in languages. However, mathematics remained a struggle.
Tayden consistently achieved 3s for maths, despite receiving additional help. This was very demotivating to Tayden and affected his self-esteem. The threat was constant that Tayden would have to repeat his grade because of mathematics. As parents, it was a fearful position to be in because, like all parents, you want the best for your children.
Towards the end of Grade 6, I was at my wits end and asked his maths teacher to recommend extra lessons outside of school. His final grade for Grade 6 was 43% (he just scraped through), and we realised that Grade 7 would be a massive step up! She recommended Edublox, which she suggested was best for his needs. While we did the evaluation at Edublox and committed to going for two weekly lessons from the start of Grade 7, we never thought it would be as empowering as it has been.
Tayden’s grade in maths lifted drastically in the first term – he achieved 80%! Since then, he consistently achieves above 70% in maths. He even received award certificates for maths at school (for achieving above 70%) and came out third overall in Grade 7 in the second term! His confidence in his maths abilities has grown so much that he feels comfortable approaching complex problems and solving them.
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Attending Edublox was the best decision as, apart from improving Tayden’s maths results straight away, we are witnessing our child thrive holistically. This year was the first time Tayden felt confident enough to participate in the Poetry Courage Eisteddfod, in which he performed wonderfully.
I wanted to share our journey as I feel we, as a family, have seen benefits, and why not share our experience, which could make a whole world of difference to another family! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
Emelia Govender
Emelia Govender Tayden's Mother
