We're in South africa, and my son would probably qualify as dysgraphic - hasn't had any testing done, but from the descriptions and from looking at writing samples online, I think it's very likely. We recently did an assessment with Edublox and they basically said he's gone unchallenged for so long at school that he simply never learnt any of the cognitive skills he needs to apply when he is challenged... obviously there's more to it than that, his auditory memory and visual processing/perception are poor, so while he reads very well, his comprehension isn't quite *there*. And his handwriting is really nowhere near grade level...
We have just started their program, and it made me wonder if anyone else here had heard about it or tried it.
What is audiblox:
http://www.edublox.com/int/what-is-audiblox.htmDoes it really work?:
http://www.edublox.com/int/faq4.htm
I used Audiblox with my dyslexic son when he was 8 or 9. At the time I didn't know he had dyslexia. It was the most fringe-y thing we did for remediation.
About 3-4 months after starting Audiblox, my son went from laboriously sounding out every word to reading fluently. I believe that the Audiblox might have been the thing that helped that along. The exercise that I believe helped the most was the little flashcards with the words where you put two down quickly one after the other and then cover them and ask what the words were.
I wonder if it really helps with dysgraphia?
Irena, we're starting to get a better idea of the root of DS's issues, and I think depending on the root(I don't want to say cause) of their dysgraphia, I think this will definitely help.
For instance, we had no idea that DS hasn't automated direction. It's something they picked up during their testing - he has to work it out every time, and he's now hit a place where doing that is making him extremely slow. One of the exercises works on getting the brain to automate direction, then moves onto the b d p q automation. DS didn't want to do the exercises at home at first, I think he felt embarrassed that he can't do it really fast, but we cleared a room and I told him we only have to do 2 mins a day, and he doesn't even have to finish the page in those 2 mins (which was his main concern).
It also made us wonder why no one at his school ever picked up on this. At home I always just kind of thought he was goofing or hadn't been giving all his attention, because there'd always be a "uh... what? oh... left" kind of response.
Sorry... waffling. But looking at how he forms his letters, I think directionality is one of the big issues for him, as is perspective - letters in relation to each other as well as overall on a line/page. But they are apparently going to help him with that as well, and they are really confident this will work for him.
We've done the OT, he graduated out of it. We've looked at other programs and workbooks etc to try at home, but for us, right now, I think this is the right thing to try.
I'll let you know how it goes.