Review: Everything is going to be K.O. by Kaiya Stone.

Kaiya Stone has written a brilliantly funny, witty, and moving memoir about her journey through education, culminating in studying Classics at Oxford University, where she was diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. For the whole of her education before this, her neuro-divergence had simply slipped people's notice - even for the few that did notice, because she was 'coping' they didn't pursue it.

Kaiya has seen almost every kind of educational setting - a Montessori school in South Africa; the American school system with enough resources to help get her the 1-1 help she needed; overcrowded primary school classes; and private school. Most of these places told Kaiya the same thing - that she verbally could do very well, but was hopeless on paper. Unfortunately, that's what matters most in many school systems worldwide. Had it not been for Kaiya's tutor at Oxford, her SpLD would have gone unnoticed still, and she would not have been able to fulfil her potential.

Kaiya's experiences really give a much-needed insight into the kind of disabilities we don't always see at school. As a teacher, I know I've been guilty in the past of just assuming that some children will just get on with it, while they may internally be screaming for help. Our education is only fit for a very small group of students. How much potential are we missing out on because of this? I've had my fair share of ranting about why the education system isn't fit for purpose, but that's an opinion from someone who benefited from the system as it is. I am part of a minority, and I'm aware of that. Our system needs a radical overhaul if we want children to thrive and not have school or education be some of the worst memories of their lives.

If we can learn so much from just this one memoir about someone who had to learn to cope in a world that was not built for them, how much more should we be seeking stories and experiences from people who are not neurotypical or able-bodied? We all know the repercussions and legacy of isms and phobias such as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc, but we pay far less attention - to our societal detriment - of ableism (discrimination against disabled people). We need to level the playing field (sometimes literally) and this needs to be done from the bottom up.