We had some concerns regarding Riley’s academic performance.
In grade 1, Riley received academic awards for Maths and English. She was reading well and did not have any problems going to school. In grade 2, her marks started falling. I believe it was a problem with her teacher, who has a very loud voice. Riley is very sensitive to loud noises and will easily distance herself from the situation. When she was in grade 3, it was 2020, and they almost never went to school. We did work on Google Classroom, but it was the minimum. Her marks dropped even more. Her reading became a problem. She struggled to concentrate when we were working and would quickly start talking about things that weren’t relevant to what we were doing. She struggled to write sentences when I read them to her and to copy words.
I was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2020, and her marks dropped even more. We blamed it on the fact that it was an emotional time for her, but we decided to have her assessed by a professional to be sure. She did not want to go to school anymore and always complained of feeling ill when going to school. According to the specialist, this was due to school-related anxiety. Dr Talita Veldsman, an educational psychologist, found signs of dyslexia and referred us to Helena Joubert, a dyslexic specialist. She also referred us to Dr Kriel, a paediatrician. Dr Kriel found that Riley might have ADD and prescribed Neucon for concentration. We tried this, but it did not make a difference. We also had her assessed by Helena Joubert, who found her to be dyslexic. Dr Kriel thought we should first give her time to adjust after Covid and my cancer before putting her on the register for dyslexia. I spoke to her teachers, who also said we should wait.
We enrolled her in extra reading classes (Reading Rocket). She enjoyed this as it was on a computer, and while she did very well in her Reading Rocket assessments, she still struggled to read a book or do her homework. She was working at a very slow pace; this made her marks drop even more and made her more anxious as she was falling behind in class.
We also enrolled her in extra maths classes. Unfortunately, her maths mark fell by 15% while doing the extra maths classes that came highly recommended.
We did not know what to do anymore, as nothing seemed to be working. Riley is a very clever girl, but this did not reflect in her work. She is very creative and can always come up with a plan, no matter the situation. Her general knowledge is also amazing. But still, she struggled to pay attention and did not do well in school.
I saw an ad on Facebook that Louise Nell placed regarding Edublox. I had known her since my older child was in her class, and she was a fantastic teacher. I spoke to her at a school function, and what she said made a lot of sense. I decided to have my twins assessed. For the first time, I felt that someone saw my kids for who they really are. She saw potential and understood the difficulties that they had faced in the last couple of years. We decided to enrol them in the Edublox program (our last hope). We stopped the extra math classes as well as the Neucon.
They have only been there for a short time – they started in July, but I can see a big difference in Riley’s confidence, concentration, and willingness to work. She no longer complains about going to school. In the first term, Riley failed Afrikaans. She had 45%. I was anxious to see what would happen, as Louise did warn me it could take a while before we saw a drastic improvement. But in term 3, she got a 90% for Afrikaans. She could not believe it, and I could see that this also boosted her confidence. Science went from 47% in the first term to 71%. Her average went from 58% to 72%.
We are very proud of her, but more importantly, she is very proud of herself. Enrolling them in Edublox has been the best decision we could have made for their future.
Esté Botha
November 2022
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Riley’s diagnosis:
Riley’s amazing school report:
Esté Botha Riley's Mother
