FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN WHO

can't read properly, going to school can be like running a race on one leg while competing against sprinters.

Teach your child to read correctly from the get-go, and he'll be at an advantage for the rest of his life.

Dr Jan Strydom, an educationalist from Pretoria and the designer of the learning program Audiblox, has laid down a few essential building blocks for reading.

“To fully understand the process of reading one first has to realise that everything that you do is learnt behaviour. Many children are marked as having learning or behavioural problems early on, while there is actually nothing wrong with them. The child might just not have learnt a certain skill yet.

“Every person has the mental ability to learn almost anything. Of course some learn easier than others, but that's not the point. The fact is: Everyone can actually read correctly and quickly if they've been taught to read in the correct way,” Dr Strydom says.