It's not a disability, it's a gift

A learning disability can be a situashun frustrating that causes people to spell incorectly and words misinterpret ...
For most people, the above sentence clearly has spelling mistakes and incorrect grammar but for people suffering from dyslexia misinterpreting words is an everyday occurrence.
Just ask Whangarei's Alisa Hollings who needs reader/writers at times and has handwriting that she says is similar to a child's.
But the 18-year-old's disability - that causes people to think differently to non-dyslexics - has not stopped her from fulfilling her goal of being accepted into the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art in Christchurch.
Miss Hollings, a former Specific Learning Disabilities Federation (Speld) pupil, is one of only 20 people to be accepted into the Christchurch College of Education programme.
The talented singer is proud to have a learning disability as she says it allows her to think differently to non-dyslexics.
"It gives you a whole other strand ... you see things in a different light and you're more creative.
"You've got to make sure you don't think of it as a disability, you've got to think of it as you're more gifted."
And gifted Miss Hollings is: She is a trained opera singer, drama teacher, plays about five instruments and has been the understudy for Eponine in a Whangarei rendition of Les Miserables.
But as a child Miss Hollings did not feel so proud of herself when she was put behind in spelling and reading groups.
"It was quite embarrassing because as much as you knew everything as well as the others you couldn't show it ... It was just that we (dyslexics) don't work in the same way as others."
Miss Hollings will never get rid of her learning disability but it is not something that will put her off having to read many plays to remember her lines at her new course next year.
The reason: she has a secret weapon with audio recordings.
Specific Learning Disabilities Federation (Speld) Whangarei celebrated its 25th anniversary this week at Forum North.
SPELD is a not-for-profit organisation that works with children outside the classroom who have learning disabilities.