Remedial therapy and learning support

Remedial therapy is teaching aimed at the specific skills a learner has not yet mastered, at a pace that suits them. It differs from ordinary extra lessons, which usually go over the week’s schoolwork again.

Amanda Ceglowski holds a postgraduate B.Ed Honours in Inclusive Education from UNISA, awarded cum laude. Her studies specialised in academic support and remediation in English and Afrikaans, in designing individual learning programmes, and in counselling. She has worked as a remedial therapist in her own practice since 2007 and in schools including Highbury, St Mary’s DSG and Curro Hillcrest High.

Starting with the cause

Learners who are struggling often show similar signs, even when the causes are different. They may avoid homework, say the work is boring, become frustrated or withdrawn, or see their marks fall. The underlying difficulty may involve, for example:

• Reading. Decoding words accurately and fluently, which is the core difficulty in dyslexia, or understanding and retaining what has been read.
• Spelling and written expression. Turning ideas into organised sentences and paragraphs.
• Attention and organisation. Common in learners with ADHD, whether hyperactive or the quieter, inattentive type, which is easily overlooked.
• Language. A gap between the language spoken at home and the language of learning, or difficulty with an additional language such as Afrikaans.
• Emotional and behavioural factors. These can cause academic problems, result from them, or both.

The first lessons are partly diagnostic. Amanda observes how a learner reads, writes and approaches a task, looks at school reports and any existing assessments, and talks to parents. Teachers are included where that helps. From that picture she designs an individual learning programme. Some learners arrive having lost confidence, so lessons are calm and unhurried, and learners can make mistakes without feeling judged.

Working alongside other professionals

Remedial therapy often runs alongside other support. Formal diagnosis of conditions such as dyslexia or ADHD is the work of educational psychologists, medical practitioners and other specialists. Many learners also see occupational or speech-language therapists. Amanda works alongside these professionals and their reports, and will recommend a formal assessment when a learner seems to need one.

Examination accommodations

Learners whose barriers to learning prevent them from showing what they know in a standard examination can apply for accommodations. These can include extra time, a reader, a scribe, or a separate venue. As the IEB puts it, accommodations allow candidates to demonstrate their true ability without changing what is being assessed. The school applies on the learner’s behalf, and the IEB accepts applications from Grade 8 through Grade 11. Families who suspect their child may need accommodations in matric should start the conversation with the school well before then. Parents often ask Amanda to write remedial reports supporting these applications, for concessions such as extra time or spelling concessions.

Why most remediation is one-to-one

At senior level, much of Amanda’s teaching is done in groups. Remedial work is the exception, and lessons are usually individual, at least to begin with. Learners with significant barriers to learning usually need lessons planned entirely around them. Lesson length is also set by the learner’s age, concentration and needs, rather than by a fixed timetable. As their skills and confidence grow, some learners move into a group with others at a similar level.

Underachievement and study skills

Not every struggling learner has a diagnosable difficulty. Some are bright learners who have never learned how to study: how to plan a week, break down a project, summarise a chapter or revise for an examination. Others have fallen behind after an illness, a change of school or a difficult year at home. For them Amanda teaches study skills directly and rebuilds the content they have missed, so they can work independently again.