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The term “learning
disabilities” is a misnomer, according to a doctor of education who has
spent years researching the subject.
Dr. Jan Strydom has
devised a system of learning, called Audiblox, which is proving
popular with educators and which, he says, can have “surprising results”
for many children who have been diagnosed as “learning disabled.”
“It is essential that
children be equipped with the tools they need for learning,” says Dr.
Strydom who has a master’s degree in philosophy, a higher teaching diploma
and a doctorate in education. “A large percentage of children who have
been called learning disabled are not disabled at all and can be helped to
increase their learning capacities.”
It is important to
understand why some children seem to struggle, he says.
“When assessing a child
who is falling behind at school or not achieving reasonable results, you
must go back to the basic fact that every human being only knows and can
do what he or she has learned.
“Often, the reason why a
child is showing failure to learn properly is that he simply has not been
taught how to learn.
“Once the problem is
addressed in the right way, progress can be remarkable.”
Dr. Strydom explains that
the development of certain foundational skills ― such as perception,
memory, and concentration ― is necessary before a child is able to learn
successfully. When a child is systematically exercised on these
foundational skills, the learning capacity increases and the problem
starts to diminish.
For many years Dr.
Strydom, who is the father of three and grandfather of two, has been
taking great interest in school readiness. Before his youngest daughter
started school he devised a program of school-readiness specifically for
her, and when she started school she did extremely well.
He then turned his
attention to the question of “learning disabilities” and applied the same
precepts as those he had applied to the school-readiness situation,
crystallizing the theory that in order to learn children should be taught
how to learn.
The essence of his
system, called Audiblox, is a program of mental exercises that
develop the foundational skills of learning. The lessons can be done at
home, in the school or by private tutors. In a school setting a lesson
usually takes 30 minutes per day, four or five times a week, and is
frequently used to prevent learning disabilities.
“It is important to try
to prevent difficulties arising,” says Dr. Strydom. “Children must be
equipped with the skills that will enable them to learn well. At the sea
or the swimming pool one wouldn’t wait to see if a child was going to
drown before doing something about it. You’d give him swimming lessons to
make sure that he didn’t.”
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