Ontsheletse is 11 years old. She is a bubbly girl in Gr 5, Centurion Christian School, and joined Edublox Wierdapark in May 2021 after her school discovered she was struggling in most of her school subjects. Her performance on her 1st term report was not satisfactory.
After engaging with her school teachers and principal, we consulted an educational psychologist who assessed her cognitive, auditory, concentration, perceptual and listening skills. She was then diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder, which means she cannot fully comprehend and retrieve most of the words she learns. This affected her English, Math and Science subjects.
As she always got low marks on her tests and had to repeat some, her self-confidence and self-esteem suffered. Her reading was poor, and she couldn’t pronounce some difficult or long words. As a result, reading sentences was challenging. Her Maths was also affected, as she swapped numbers and couldn’t retrieve long numbers that had more than 6-7 digits.
She developed tension headaches as a result of frustration of not coping with school work. As parents, we were faced with a huge challenge of how to assist her, as this was now affecting her behaviour and personality.
The psychologist, however, assured us that with intense remedial lessons and speech therapy sessions, her auditory development would improve, and she will perform much better.
We started searching for schools that offered remedial classes for such challenges. We came across Edublox, read all the testimonials from other parents, and started making enquiries with the institution. The warm welcome of the staff and assessment feedback made us realise that our daughter will be in good hands, and that her challenges will be addressed and overcome.
Feedback from her Edublox assessment made us more committed to supporting her and assuring her she will make it, so as to also revive and build back her confidence.
In just 6 months with Edublox, she can work on her own, arrange her school work in order to plan her homework, and prepare for her tests. Her logical thinking, perception, listening and comprehension skills have improved. She has also developed a love for reading books, even those that are not academically prescribed. She is able to assist her younger sister, who is in Gr 3, with some of her school work. She loves challenges, and she is actively playing chess at school, which assists her with her thinking too. She loves working and playing with Lego blocks, building puzzles, and playing netball at school. She has also started to understand Afrikaans, which was a challenge for her in the past. Because of the confidence she has now built, she is eager to attempt new words and phrases.
It is an extraordinary home and program. The staff’s professionalism and patience for the students, accommodating them with their challenges, is out of this world. They are also willing to get feedback from parents and find ways of assisting the students in order to build their confidence and improve academically.
Boitumelo Tau
Boitumelo Tau Ontsheletse's mother
