Mar 6, 2025, ReNews: One in 5 young people in NZ is neurodivergent—this is what it’s like
When Holly Earl read her autism diagnosis she says it was like reading a book about herself.
The 18-year-old Christchurch student was diagnosed with autism and dyslexia when she was 14 which she says is early for a girl, but late overall.
“I was always a shy kid but there were clear signs when the lockdown hit and my routine went away.
“It uncovered a lot of things I had been masking.”
Holly says she tended to mimic the social behaviour of others around her, and so when she became isolated at home during lockdown she no longer had that to help her act a certain way.
She also lost a lot of routine and structure that came with school and felt more comfortable at home to express feelings that she otherwise would have hidden at school.
“I was having more panic attacks and it became apparent that I wasn't coping.”
As part of our new series The Regions, we followed the story of 18-year old Charlotte Billings, who finally got an autism diagnosis a decade after her mum first took her to be assessed.
In this article, we speak to three other young neurodivergent people about their experience.
Neurodivergence in New Zealand
ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, and dyslexia all fall under the neurodivergence umbrella.
One in 5 - or 320,000- young people in New Zealand is neurodivergent.
They have brains wired to think, learn, perceive the world and feel differently from neurotypical people.
Of that 320,000, 10% are dyslexic, 5% have ADHD, 5% are gifted, 2% have autism, and many have multiple neurodiversities. . . .
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