Blog Update

What a busy couple weeks it has been. Last week we had our Science fair and Senior Syndicate Speech Finals. The speech finals were really scary and nerve racking, I was sitting in my chair trembling. I came first for the Intermediate girls. As a result of that I went to Glenfield Intermediate on Tuesday to compete against eight other schools, that was even scarier. Sadly I didn't come any thing but the experience was amazing.   

My Speech 2014

This is the Speech that got me through to the finals and my topic was.....
Everyone can Succeed and here it is:

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Have you ever felt like you’re being constantly judged? Well, this is just a normal day in the life of a person with learning disabilities. Let me give you a crystal clear idea of what it feels like to be that person.

Imagine a room full of computers and printers that are exactly the same except for one. This computer has all the features to process this information, but when it tries to print the information it just can’t do it...

Children with learning disabilities have trouble processing information, Learning disabilities are more common than you think. In fact according to recent statistics 1 in every 7 students has  some kind of learning disability.

The key to helping a child with learning disabilities is early diagnosis. If identified early the school can support the child by providing special learning programs such as the Assistive technology program that can assist students in writing using modern technology that enables them to speak and record their ideas.

Other than having trouble learning in class they also face many social issues. Sometimes they are labelled as stupid, or even good for nothing. These labels hurt and lower their self-esteem. They are also often the prey of bullies.

School can be a challenging place for someone with learning disabilities. Big classes make it a hard for teachers to give one on one attention to these students. The government helps schools by giving children what they call ‘Orrs’ funding since diagnostic tests and programs are expensive.

Lack of funding makes it hard to hire support staff and to run alternative programs. Without help these children are at a great risk of not succeeding. So you're probably thinking that all people with learning disabilities are doomed, but you are wrong, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Can you guess which 6 year old boy came home with a note from his teacher and I quote “He is too stupid to learn” that’s right Thomas Edison the man who invented the light bulb.

Did you know that Albert Einstein couldn't read until he was twelve, and look who he turned out to be, one of the world’s most famous scientists. A few others include Walt Disney, Will Smith, Britney Spears and Will-i-am. The list just goes on and on and on and you get my point right….  So to clear any doubts, if given the right support and opportunities children with learning disabilities can obviously be very successful.

So now you might be wondering why I chose this topic, do I have learning disabilities, no, i don’t but my sister does… a severe learning disability…. and through her I have learnt to look at the world and its people through different perspectives and I hope that after listening to my speech you will too.