Act MP Toni Severin discusses her dyslexia. Video / Mark Mitchell
As Act MP Toni Severin prepared for her maiden speech her biggest fear was that people would think she was stupid.
Speaking in front of the country’s top politicians, live-streamed across the nation, would be a nerve-wracking moment for most, let alone for someone with dyslexia.
For Christchurch-based Severin, the neurological condition means she has trouble reading, pronouncing words and spelling - all vital in the pressure-cooker environment of being a politician where rhetoric rules.
“It was very scary. You are exposing yourself for the public to see.”
It is estimated at least one in 10 people have a form of dyslexia, meaning about 70,000 New Zealand schoolchildren experience it.
The International Dyslexia Association defines it as a specific learning disability “characterised by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities”.
In New Zealand, dyslexia is recognised in the education system, with resources to assist students with it, but is not officially recognised as a disability - unlike other countries including Australia.
Toni Severin struggled with English at school but excelled at maths and science. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Experts say lacking this clear definition means there is no agreed approach to support and teach students who have dyslexia - or even to recognise it in school.
That was the experience of Severin, who had no idea she was dyslexic until she was 21. Growing up in Invercargill, she struggled through English at school, but excelled in maths and science.
“To be 21 and reading at a 10-and-a-half-year-old level, was quite shocking,” she said.
But it was not until she began working as a lab technician that a colleague encouraged her to get tested.
“They were very shocked that I had made it all the way through to the seventh form.
“It was shocking but a great relief to know what I was struggling through was actually something real.
“It explained a whole lot of things - why I couldn’t grasp certain sounds and had difficulty breaking down words.
“At school it was very, very scary, speaking in front of the class, your peers.”
But after her diagnosis, Severin also did an IQ test, which she said was a massive “boost”.
“It showed me I’m not stupid, I am bright. But because I’ve not been able to read or spell correctly, you doubt yourself.”
Severin passed her lab technician training and worked in the field for 15 years. She also completed a diploma in marketing and now runs a small business with her husband.
She entered Parliament in 2020 on the Act list as part of its record intake, after running unsuccessfully in the previous four elections.
In her spare time she even completed a postgraduate course in policy analysis.
Working as a politician, Severin tried to be as open as possible about dyslexia, asking people to tell her if they didn’t understand something she wrote or said.
“Sometimes it’s quite funny because I’ve mucked up a word in the House, people might crack up.
“I don’t take it personally because I know it’s just part of it. But the other MPs and staff are very supportive.
“As we all know, if you look through the history of people we’ve discovered had a form of dyslexia, there are some very, very bright people.”
Toni Severin uses her phone to look up words when she gets stuck. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Famous people with dyslexia include entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.
Severin used to carry around a small dictionary with her, though she now relies on her phone to look up words.
But there needed to be more awareness about dyslexia and testing available, she said.
Severin supports a petition by dyslexia consultant Mike Styles to initiate a Government inquiry into the services and supports provided for people with dyslexia.
She was particularly concerned about people in prison with dyslexia, something that ran across her party spokeswoman roles for ACC, Corrections and Disability Issues.
Studies show a much higher proportion of those in prison have dyslexia than the general population, with some estimating up to 50 per cent of prisoners.
“We do need to know this information. There are probably so many kids still falling through the cracks.
“Parents can’t afford to probably send them to SPELD [testing facility] in New Zealand because it’s very, very expensive.
“If we’ve got these very low numeracy and literacy rates, I would say that a lot of them would be having a form of dyslexia.
“That’s part of the reason why I liked our idea of charter schools. If a kid can find a school that suits their needs, they’re more willing to learn.”
Severin said if Act was part of any government from 2023 she would be interested in the disabilities portfolio, particularly to raise awareness about “hidden” disabilities.
Her message to anyone out there experiencing dyslexia was to not give up.
“We’ve all found coping mechanisms, but a lot don’t, a lot end up throwing their hands up in the air and going well, I’m not going to learn, I’m stupid.”
