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ìI just want my child to be averageî 
by Nicola Donald 

Why do parents only aim for their children to be academically average? Has society lost the importance of having dreams and reaching goals?  

Some of our most famous Australians would never have achieved what they did without the encouragement of their parents. Do you think Mrs Thorpe ever said to Ian, ìStop swimming now Ian, you have reached the same level as the other children and that is good enough?î Of course not! She had a vision and wanted her childís dreams realised.  

If we were talking sport instead of academics, do you think parents would encourage children to stop just when they were beginning to achieve? Would they hold them back, thinking they could be bored in footy if they were good at it, like they do with maths?  

I work for an education organisation that believes in the importance of being above average, of setting targets and never giving up. We know that childrenís limitations are only in their minds. At Kumon we believe every child has the potential to reach one year above their grade level in 18 months. We have seen this success time and time again, despite the problems they may have when entering a Kumon centre for the first time. 

What we are aiming for at Kumon is for children to have a stress-free high school experience, knowing that the earlier they enrol the better equipped they will be to handle what the future holds for them.  

We enrol children as young as three, with the majority in early primary school. These children will go on and be able to choose their future, equipped with the academic skills, confidence and perseverance that their Kumon study has given them. 

Kumon graduates are modest, quietly confident and armed with the understanding that if you set goals and work hard you can realise your dreams. I want to introduce you to one now.  

Eka Kartawijaya started the Kumon Maths Programme in Year Nine. He is now in his second year of university and has finished the programme. The content of the Kumon maths programme at this level is equivalent to studying maths or engineering at University.  

Eka says that studying Commerce, majoring in finance, is easy for him now that he has undertaken such advanced mathematics at Kumon. ìI also breezed through my TEE maths exams and for that I will always be grateful to Kumon.î He is working at Kumon part-time at his old Kumon centre while he puts himself through University. 

 ìMy supervisor at the centre really cared about every student in his centre, he is great. Besides Kumon my favourite after school activities are basketball and reading. I have just finished the Da Vinci Code and loved it,î Eka says. ìI enrolled in the Kumon maths programme because my mother was worried about the standard of maths in Australia as compared to Indonesia where we were from.î Parental support is a necessity for success in the Kumon programme and Eka realises that his Mum wanted to give him every opportunity available for him to experience success in the future.  

His Supervisor, Kevin Phelps, at the Bullcreek Kumon Education Centre, says that, ìEka has been an inspiration. The biggest difficulty was getting Eka to believe he could do it. We set goals every six months and slowly he realised that it would be achievable. 

 ìHis journey through Kumon was that of a ëquiet achieverí,î Kevin says. ìMr Kumonís dream of world peace has a little piece of this in Eka. He will contribute greatly to his community and fellow man.î  

Kumon Education Centres are located across the Perth metropolitan area. For more information about Kumon please call 1800 458 666 or visit www.kumon.com.au

Unlock your childís learning potential
Brad Hutchinson ñ Audiologist/Speech Pathologist
Claire Hutchinson ñ Occupational Therapist 

Why do some children ëget ití in the classroom, while others struggle to understand even simple instructions? 

Nine-year-old Justin has always had trouble following instructions, despite his average intelligence, and normal vision and hearing thresholds. Justin works quite well at home when his mum pays him one-on-one attention, although his homework usually takes longer than it should. 

In the busy classroom environment, Justinís teacher becomes frustrated with him because he does not seem to concentrate or listen. He frequently asks for information to be repeated and usually looks at what his classmates are doing so that he can copy. Justinís reports show that he is falling behind academically and has become occasionally disruptive in class. His teacher has suggested that he be tested for ADHD, however Justinís mother does not believe this to be the reason for her sonís non-compliance in the classroom. 

While some children do experience similar difficulties to Justinís due to a hearing deficit, ADHD, a learning deficit, or even depression, Justin experiences a significant Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD). While his ears are able to hear the information, his brain has difficulty processing or interpreting it quickly enough, particularly in environments like the classroom where there is competing background noise. 

These students experience difficulties processing information because the sounds of the English language have not been sufficiently imprinted on the language centres of their brain. While there may be different causes for this, often children have experienced multiple middle-ear infections during the period of critical language development of zero to four years old, whether or not these ear infections were recognised at the time. 

In an average classroom there are likely to be a number of students who find it difficult to learn because they have CAPD. Not all will possess the same behaviours as Justin; some will be achieving within the average range academically but will be expending a lot of energy to concentrate on verbal instructions rather than directing this effort into learning. Many parents of these children will identify with similar learning difficulties during their own schooling. 

For some children language is a strong learning stimulus, while for others it can be confusing. The childís parent and teacher must understand that CAPD is real and the associated behaviours, including difficulties listening to information and processing what has been heard, are not within the childís control. I believe that all children want to succeed, and, given the chance, they too can develop the language centre in their brain so that they are able to reach their own learning potential. 

Language and learning difficulties may become apparent when the child is very young. If left untreated, problems are likely to persist into adulthood. In providing intervention for CAPD it is essential to address the underlying problem, the processing deficit, to avoid ìbandaidingî the symptoms. The most successful treatment for CAPD is a very sophisticated computer programme called Fast ForWord, designed by American neuroscientists and based on over 30 years of neurophysiological and behavioural research. Fast ForWord is founded on the optimal learning principles of frequency, intensity, adaptation and motivation, and incredibly, an average of two year gains in auditory processing skills are achieved through only four to 10 weeks of participation. 

Fast ForWord structurally remodels the manner in which the individual thinks, significantly develops the language centre of the brain, and unlocks the individualís learning capacity so they are able to achieve to their potential in the classroom environment. The programme is so successful, it forms part of the core school curriculum in over 5000 schools in the United States, for students ranging from kindergarten through to adulthood. 

If you would like to talk to a specialist regarding CAPD, please call Sonic Hearingís Head Office in North Perth on 9271 7711.