Renae Bergen is from the Pembina Valley and wondered why school was always so difficult for her. Bergen's mother thought it might be dyslexia because she had a hard time reading, and after taking classes to learn how to read, her world became different.

She's hoping to open up more conversation because October is Dyslexia Awareness Month.

"I learned that my brain is just wired differently. Dyslexics are really creative, visual thinkers and when it comes to logical thinking it's not usually our strong point. Not that I'm not smart, I have different talents and strong points."

After taking classes to work with her dyslexia, she became passionate about teaching others with these characteristics how to work with it instead of against it.

Bergen says some common signs she's noticed is when kids reading levels are a few below where they should be, or when you read a word with the vowels mixed up. For example, reading the word 'bride' as 'bird'.

"I know it affected my self-esteem greatly, and I never ever thought I was capable of a post-secondary education. I barely made it through the school system, so how was I supposed to function outside of the world? What I came to realize is . . . I found I enjoyed work so much because it was very hands-on, and I discovered I'm very capable of learning, just in a hands-on manner."

Getting an official diagnosis is very difficult, and Bergen says the best way to get it is through psychologists in local school systems. Although this isn't the end of many dyslexia stories, having a name for what someone is experiencing can help kick start learning more about it, and finding positive ways of coping.

"One of the things I've noticed is ADHD tends to be a diagnosed part of dyslexics, which sometimes is very true because we have overactive brains, but the next time we come across as ADD because we're bored . . . It's also different spectrums too," she adds.

Bergen is a Reading Practitioner through her business READiscover Literacy, and hopes to continue helping families and individuals work past their struggle.

"I want people to know that they're not alone. One out of five people have it, so twenty percent of the world's population. It's hereditary so you just keep passing it down to your children. Through the awareness and sharing it with friends and family it just spread really fast . . . I've had children who come to me completely illiterate and not even be able to properly recite the alphabet be able to read at a grade six level when they're done."