The Audiblox Diary of Kori Mitchell

April 2003

“Kori's Vision Exam,” Posted by Michelle on April 11, 2003, 6:45 pm

Hi everyone! I've got good news and some bad about Kori's diary.

Kori saw her eye doctor. He did a full exam and was shocked to find that Kori's eyes have changed and she needs new glasses. She just received the pair she has now last August which isn't long ago.

The reason we took her in again so soon was because her AB performance and in reading in general deteriorated. We have not been moving forward to much as you all may have noticed.

Her doctor said that she was seeing double after a short time of working and that she does a remarkable job at forcing herself back to the work. Incredible endurance. He explained it as her eyes just run out of gas. When this happens she sees double and her eyes turn outward. It's also because of her vision continuing to change. She has been working very hard under these conditions.

We also talked with the doctors who performed her Visagraph testing because they retested her Auditory and visual memory. They say she is above average in all areas and believe the only thing holding her back is the constant changing of the condition of her eyes. This condition cannot be corrected with vision therapy. This explains why Kori can read high level material but not in a timely fashion. Her eyes have to work to hard. It could also be the reason for her score on the Visagraph. I have noticed at home that she will read quickly sometimes and other times slow and sluggish. Her doctor said that was definitely because of her eyes not focusing and adjusting well. Her eyes just get tired out. She had taken the Visagraph test after a full day of school and Audiblox. So maybe the score would have been different if she had not worked so hard that day.

Benetta has reviewed all that Kori is doing and the AB team has decided that Kori may be doing better than we had thought. We will begin to cut down on Audiblox!!! I'll let Benetta explain what we will do next.

I also want to post another message above this that will go back and compare Kori's complete progress since using Audiblox. I am surprised when reviewing this and I'm sure you all will be also!

Thank you all so much for reading Kori's diary. Thank you all for your wonderful emails and encouragement. It has helped keep us going. Koris diary will continue so stay posted!

Blessings,
Michelle

Posted by Benetta on April 15, 2003, 3:25 pm, in reply to "Kori's Vision Exam"

Dear Michelle and Kori

Thank you for your message re Kori's eye problems. It has cleared up a lot of uncertainties. Of course, if she has the kind of eye problems you described, she will take longer with the comprehension tests and reading tests. It also explains the low scores we saw in the Visagraph, where I actually expected a much better performance from her.

However, the eye examination has shown us the road ahead as far as Audiblox is concerned. It is time to start cutting down on the Audiblox! Kori will now only have to do 5x30 minutes per week. I also adjusted her program to gear it more towards academics, i.e. adding more reading and spelling exercises. Michelle, please follow the new program, as given in my personal e-mail to you. Also, the time is now ripe for phonics instruction, as suggested by your homeschool coordinator. This will also help to improve her spelling, which seems to be the only problem left.

Michelle, and Kori, I shall miss our weekly chats! Thank you both for all your hard work and commitment, it has been such a wonderful experience working with you!

Well, I hope you will have a great month ahead!
Until the next posting,
Benetta.

Kori began Audiblox in January 2002. It has been 1 year and about 3 months. Kori was in the middle of her 4th grade year in homeschool and was 9 1/2 years old. When Kori started she struggled at 1st grade reading. She was basically a non-reader. She needed me for everything. We had tried everything. She had done several phonics programs and she couldn't apply what she was learning to her reading. She couldn't spell at all. She had trouble telling the difference between similar words like "saw" and "was" or "on" and "no". She reversed words and letters in writing and copying. All this was after completing 8 months of vision therapy. We had her tested by several educational specialists and they all said the same thing. Kori, at 9 years old, had the IQ of an average 13 or 14 year old. She had very high thinking skills but had almost no visual memory. She had low auditory memory but we were told this was her strength and to build on it by reading everything to her. They said that was the only way she'd ever learn because she would never read well. We were told that she was in the 1% category of learning disabled children and chances for success were almost non-existent. We tried everything. Tons of money and tears went into teaching her.

I finally came across Audiblox and was very tired and weary at the thought of spending so much time on it. I also doubted that I could actually do a good job at this program. I asked questions on the message board where Susan and Benetta offered me an opportunity that I felt was from the Lord, to do a diary on Kori. I felt that this would be good because they would try to help me in every way they could. I needed the backup and was grateful for the help and encouragement. So I ordered the set and began a little over a year ago.

Now here we are! We are rejoicing in how far we have come. I can't believe that Kori is reading at grade level although still slow due to eye problems that aren't correctable. But she is there! I had recently tested her on the McCaw - Crabbs reading comprehension sheets, on which I timed her and she scored at a 3.9 grade level. Without timing her she can read 5-6th grade work. It is awesome. She never reverses letters, words or numbers anymore. Her spelling is still weak but has jumped up to 2.9 grade level. She can now write a story in manuscript or cursive in a timely fashion and the spelling of simple words are usually correct!

We have had her re-tested by the same specialist by whom she was tested before starting Audiblox. They said that her visual memory is at grade level and that her auditory memory has gone off the charts. She is very, very advanced in her auditory skills. I have to say that she remembers everything she hears. I will read to her and test her weeks later on what I read and she will remember everything without studying or reviewing. Her visual processing memory is great also. Now when she misspells a word and I correct her and give the proper spelling she rarely ever misspells it again.

Math is another area in which we have been blessed. Although she has never been behind in math and has always performed well, she was slow. It would take up to 2 hours at times to finish one lesson. I often had to assign only odd or even numbers if I wanted to finish the day while the sun was up! Now she completes her lesson in about 45 minutes and is getting straight A's in math.

Concentration and work tempo are more things in which I've seen huge improvements. She can stay focused as long as I ask her to. I am very impressed that she can sit through school for hours on end. Sometimes I'll tell her that we can take a day off if she doubles up on math, grammar, history and reading. Then we can go somewhere on a field trip. She does this with no problem. Before Audiblox we had to take many breaks. Today Kori reads one chapter of the Bible and one chapter from a reading book daily in addition to Audiblox, math, and her other school work.

I also want to point out that Audiblox has been our main focus for the last year, not academics! I was very light on the school side of things because we wanted Audiblox to be our main focus. Some days all she did was Audiblox; Audiblox for 60 min.

I considered Audiblox before everything else. So the success goes to Audiblox for her achievements. One other thing that I have learned is that the people at Audiblox wanted Kori to succeed for her own sake not just to promote their business. I have come to realize through reading the message board and chatting with other moms that they help everyone and want them all to succeed. I love that because I haven't found that support anywhere else.

Thanks to Benetta for customizing her program, Susan for moral support and encouragement and Dr. Jan for parenting advice!

Thanks,
Michelle

I was very excited to read the results that Kori has experienced. I have a 7 year old boy, he just turned 7 yesterday (7/3), and he has struggled through kindergarten for two years and will be in 1st grade this year. He did not learn the alphabet after 1 1/2 years in kindergarten. We hired a tutor who uses visual aides and he now knows the alphabet and is beginning to learn. But he struggles with remembering things and I'm just not sure if he sees things like we do. He's been tested and is VERY bright. His vocabulary is amazing. We are searching, just as you have, for anything that will help him. If you have any more information you can share we would really appreciate it.
Thank you.

Karen,

I'm so sorry to hear how much your son struggles, but I assure you it is better that you are seeing this in the early grades. I had waited till Kori was in 3rd before doing anything because I was told by many people that they can't diagnose learning problems till 3rd grade or beyond.

I do wish that I'd started researching the problem sooner. Kori had major memory problems. She does great now. I'd really suggest using this program immediately. If you start right away and be consistant you can possibly have him completely caught up in a year or so. I might even suggest homeschooling if it is possible. I have been reading to Kori so much. We read aloud for history and science. I also do unit studies. These help her not to get behind in other areas. It also gave me the freedom to use Audiblox as her main source of academic training for awhile.

Kori is also very smart. She has proven over and over to have above average intelligence. I have all the confidence in the world that she will excell. Audiblox put a piece of her together that had been completely "broken". I will be forever thankful for them and suggest you follow their program very carefully to help your son.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Michelle

I had Kori do one of those 3rd grade reading comprehension sheets that she used to do. She finished it in 6 minutes! I think the fastest she has finished was in 10 minutes before starting the fifth grade ones. So she is speeding up despite her vision problems. I also noticed that if we give her a writing assignment at the beginning of the day she does so much better than after a few other subjects. We are getting excited. I think her spelling is getting better also. Time will tell.

Just had to share!

Michelle

Dear Michelle,

Many thanks for the message. You are certainly not the only ones who are getting excited. Well, to tell you the truth, we are excited already. There has been so much good news coming from your side lately. You must be very proud - and we are too. Please continue to work hard, there is still more good to come.

Regards,
Dr Jan.

THE END