Issue 14: Children Should Be Tested in Year One for Learning Disabilities (an essay by Nate Haste | 14 Year Old | Dyslexia)

This is an essay written by 14-year-old Nate Haste from Lower Hutt, New Zealand for his English class at school. Nate is dyslexic and is being assessed for ADHD and anxiety.

Imagine in year 9 you're terrible at reading and spelling, but you love to write stories, so when you show someone one of your stories, and they have no idea what you have written because you have spelt because as "becos", fight as "fite", and said as "sed" etc. There are a lot of learning differences, such as dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia. A child can have one or more of these learning differences. Children should be tested for learning differences so they can have the help they need to be successful.

A lot of people say that children, mostly boys, that struggle to read and spell or do math will come right and are just taking a bit longer to learn. The Ministry of Education has only recently recognised dyslexia and other learning differences as existing. When people go to university to learn to be teachers, most don't learn about teaching children with learning differences. Because a lot of teachers don't know, they tell parents that their child will be fine and catch up in their learning. Children with learning differences will not come right if no one knows they have a learning difference.