Half a million New Zealanders are predicted to return home in the wake of Covid-19, but our family won’t be on that list until New Zealand sorts out its approach to special needs and disability education. In August 2019 we left our beloved New Zealand, the country my husband and kids are natural citizens of, … Read more
The success stories of people with extra struggles may not get awards and trophies, but they’re worth celebrating all the same, says Jai Breitnauer. It’s the time of year for awards assemblies and prize-givings, for clubs and teams handing out certificates and trophies. It’s traditional, as we approach Christmas and the end of the school … Read more
Jai Breitnauer wrote that she was at her ‘wit’s end’ over a lack of funding for her child with autism spectrum disorder. Then the Ministry of Education stepped in. Is it a happy ending? Only sort of, she writes. In March I wrote a deeply personal, and quite sweary, essay about how shit the education … Read more
Two 20-year-old Auckland students have created an app that combines the brevity of Q&A platforms like Yahoo Answers or Quora with the visual nature of websites like YouTube or Instagram. Now, they’re competing against 11 other teams all across Asia in one of the biggest student tech competitions in the world. A few years ago a … Read more
Geraldine Ramirez is coming to terms with finding out her precious baby may not live through labour or beyond. Here she shares her story. On 2 July, my world changed. Fourteen weeks pregnant with our second child, I was waiting on a call from my midwife to tell me if our baby had Down syndrome. … Read more
Poorly paid, with no job security and no formal career development, the mostly female profession of teacher aide has been badly treated for generations – and the knock-on effects are keeping others out of the workforce. Jai Breitnauer reports. Teachers are striking, psychologists are speaking out about the impact of a lack of resources, and as … Read more
Spinoff Parents columnist Angela Cuming writes about what her children’s early childhood education centre means to her and her whānau. From the outside, there’s not much to give it away. An old two-storey villa, black asphalt driveway, a faded wooden fence just tall enough to peep over. But push open the heavy front door and … Read more
‘Every child in New Zealand deserves the support they need so that they can succeed in education,’ said Labour during the election campaign. Now it’s time to back up those words with real funding for children with autism and other special needs, writes Erika Harvey. Dear Jacinda, I didn’t expect to be here. To be … Read more
When it comes to minority groups, getting the words right is important. Tessa Prebble explores the popular term ‘special needs’ when it comes to being a parent of a child with disabilities, and asks whether in using that term we are doing our children a disservice. Disability is not a dirty word. So why do … Read more
New Zealand’s Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero asks for attitudes toward disability to change and encourages the celebration of the lives and achievements of people with Down syndrome. My time in the role as Disability Rights Commissioner has confirmed what I already knew: that attitudes towards disability in New Zealand need to change. And what better … Read more
What would you do if your baby couldn’t eat? Jenn Gilbert shares her family’s story of naso-gastric tube feeding baby Ada. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had the usual first-timer anxieties. Would I ever sleep again? Would my baby cry a lot? Would my body ever be the same? But there … Read more
Last week a kindergarten in Wellington wrote an open letter to the Minister for Education, pleading for their children with special needs to get the support they need. As part of a Spinoff Parents series on early childhood education in New Zealand, Michaela Harris went to the kindergarten to talk to teachers and parents. Newtown … Read more
How would you earn your living if you and your child had a severe disability? One mother shares how she has found a job that makes her life just a little easier. I’m young, Māori and a sex worker, and my life is harder than you can imagine, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. … Read more
We have all had those really, really hard days and weeks where everything feels like it’s too much. Mum of two Jessie Moss talks about how she copes when life is sending her curve balls. This year I have been feeling increasingly paralysed by the seemingly immense and insurmountable tasks that surround me. From small … Read more
Mother of five Cathy Johnston writes about her hopes that her children will appreciate her – as she appreciates her own mother, and all those who mother us. As the mid morning sunshine filters through the clouds, the last of Jack Frost’s overnight ice crunches beneath my pink gumboots. The baby is finally asleep. I … Read more
Jessie Moss has written for The Spinoff Parents before about her daughter’s syndrome and her quest for a diagnosis. Here she writes about a new stage in their lives – how she and her partner will tell their precious child about her differences. When we received our girl’s diagnosis last year, we didn’t tell her. … Read more
Spinoff Parents columnist and advocate for children with disabilities Tessa Prebble writes about ableism and why the able-bodied community need to stop ignoring or excusing it. Picture this: you’re looking for a place to live for you and your partner and your three year old daughter. You look for months and then finally find something … Read more
Should we stop using the term ‘special needs’? Spinoff Parents columnist and advocate for children with disabilities Tessa Prebble looks at a new campaign to retire the phrase, launched to mark World Down Syndrome Day. In the world of social justice, language is important. I consider myself fairly woke, or if I’m honest, in a continuous … Read more
Jessica Hammond Doube’s daughters are at risk at every playdate, every time they go to a restaurant or cafe, and at school every day. And at Easter, the risks posed by their severe food allergies are even more pronounced. Here Jessica writes about how allergies affect her family’s life, and what she wishes other parents … Read more
Without the lived experience of having a child with health complications you can never truly know what it’s like. One who knows is Tessa Prebble, who shares how it feels to hear the words ‘as long as it’s healthy’ now. At baby showers all over the world you’ll hear the same five words: “As long … Read more
Many parents make the reasonable decision to terminate their pregnancy following an in utero diagnosis of Down Syndrome. But as more sophisticated tests make it easier and less risky to diagnose early, Tessa Prebble wonders whether we’ve really thought through the consequences. When I found out I was pregnant, my GP immediately handed me a … Read more
For Tessa Prebble, whose own daughter was born with congenital issues, the story of Aria evokes only sadness – and anger at a medical system that let a struggling family down. Tessa Prebble is a force. She writes with great courage and she’s changing the world. Here she shares her views on a heartbreaking story … Read more