Enabling kids to learn

At Mikro Foundation, we meet many hardworking Kiwis who simply need the right support to help unlock their potential. One of those people is Jessica.

Jessica’s teachers describe her as kind, empathetic, and hardworking. She consistently pushes herself beyond her comfort zone and has taken on leadership responsibilities at school. However, living with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) has at times made the classroom environment especially challenging.

APD is a hearing disorder where the ears function normally, but the brain has difficulty processing sounds and spoken information. In a busy classroom, this can make it harder for students to hear, understand, and retain instructions. Too often, students with APD are mistaken for not listening, which can create additional challenges at school.

Support for APD can range from simple classroom adjustments, such as improving acoustics, through to more personalised technology like remote microphone systems. For Jessica and her family, finding the right solution involved navigating significant practical, financial, and systemic barriers. Traditional funding pathways were limited, despite their determination to get her the help she needed.

When we met Jessica, we knew she was exactly the kind of hardworking Kiwi Mikro Foundation exists to support. We were proud to provide funding for a customised speaker and hearing aid-based solution, helping her access learning more effectively and get the most from her education.

Since receiving support, Jessica has continued to grow in confidence and capability, with clear improvements in her learning outcomes. We’re proud to have played a small part in her journey.

For privacy reasons, “Jessica” is a pseudonym.