My son, Duane, was born on 14 June 1988, weighing 4,7 kg. The night after his birth his breathing became very heavy and difficult. I asked for help several times, but I was told not to be worried since he was merely tired from the long and difficult birth. At about 4 o’clock in the morning his breathing became quiet and Duane seemed peaceful. I suddenly realised that he had actually stopped breathing!! I immediately called the staff who gave him oxygen. He had been without oxygen for approximately two minutes.
Duane was lagging behind in all of his developmental milestones. He only started sitting at the age of 13 months and walking at the age of two. His speech was even worse. At the age of five he could only say words to express his needs, such as “milk” or “bread.” We sought medical assistance on several occasions, but our fears were passed off with the argument that every child develops at his own pace.
Then came the big day, Duane’s first day at school. After six months we were called in by the headmaster and were told that we should never expect our son to read and write. We were advised to put him in a school for the mentally handicapped. My husband and I both refused, hoping and praying that we would find help for Duane. Our long journey had begun…
We put Duane in a special class at a normal school, and started with occupational therapy and speech therapy. We saw a psychiatrist and a homeopath. We even had him hypnotised! We saw improvements in his co-ordination, but little improvement in other areas. He still couldn’t read, nor could he count to three. We took him to a paediatric neurologist, who put our son on three Ritalin tablets a day. This caused severe headaches, shortness of breath, vomiting, aggressive behaviour, bed-wetting, and disorientation. Ritalin was obviously not the answer.
Soon after the Ritalin episode we heard about Audiblox. We decided that we could not lose anything by giving it a try. I attended an Audiblox course and was certified to conduct Audiblox group classes. At first I only used the system to teach Duane, doing one hour per day, five days per week. I taught him for two years. In 1999 Duane received a gold certificate in the Eisteddfod for a poem he had recited. He was the only boy in his age group of 30 boys who received a gold certificate. This was a child who previously could not remember a nursery rhyme like Humpty Dumpty! Needless to say we were very proud.
In the meantime, new research by Dr Strydom, the developer of the Audiblox program, enabled better help for children like Duane. I attended this new course, and was duly certified to conduct the Audiblox Intensive course. We increased the number of hours per day to two or three. At the end of 2000 my son could speed-read about 250 words, and his general reading ability was on a Grade 3 level. I don’t think this is too bad for someone who was not supposed to read at all!!
Duane started high school this year at a practical high school. We recently received his first report for the first term. His marks were unbelievable! He obtained a 4 (75%-100%) for Maths and for Economical Management, and 3’s (56%-74%) for all his other subjects. Our journey is not over yet, but where there is progress there is hope.
Pam Bezuidenhout
Greenhills
(LETTER TRANSLATED)
Pam Bezuidenhout Duane's mother
