hen Ashleigh Keating is asked if she felt supported during her time in the education system, her answer is simple: “God no.” The university student received her autism diagnosis before preschool and says she doubts she would have completed high school without the constant backing of her family.
Her subsequent diagnoses of dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were not picked up until her late primary school years, due to, she says, her school thinking “she has autism, it’s that”. Just because we have a diagnosis, doesn’t mean we can’t achieve things. We can, we just need to do it differentlyAbout three in 10 children in early childhood education reported bullying, rising to almost seven in 10 among primary and secondary students.
Once reaching primary school, 70% of students reported being excluded from activities or events at school, from excursions to PE classes and riding on buses. Only 27% reported feeling supported to learn. “If we constantly isolate particular kids, we teach a generation [that] those kids are different. But if it isn’t the way a school is set up, it’s a big step and kids end up not being able to access the same things.”