Monday evening, Ranae Bergen led a Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome seminar in Winkler. She works as a Reading Practitioner with READiscover Literacy.

"1 out of 5 people have dyslexia, and it's also genetic," says Bergen, who has dyslexia herself.

Dyslexia affects how the brain perceives phonetics, or the sound that letters or vowels make, which can cause difficulty in reading. Each person diagnosed has a different level of severity, and Bergen says "there are three main types of dyslexia. It affects auditory, kinaesthetic, and also speech as well, and visual."

On top of this, 65 percent of the people that live with dyslexia also have Irlen syndrome, which affects the ability to see light waves. For example, someone with Irlen Syndrome who is reading black text on a white page will likely be unable to read the text, and they may even see letters moving on the page.

Bergen says, "lots of people that get tired when reading think that's a normal thing, but really it isn't. You shouldn't feel exhausted when you're reading . . . Lots of people misdiagnose dyslexia when really it's Irlen syndrome. Also a lot of people are misdiagnosed with ADD when they really have Irlen syndrome as well."

Having a coloured overlay to place on top of a white page can be a quick solution to combat this, but Bergen adds that the right colour will differ from one person to the next.

Through the seminar, Bergen hopes more people become aware of the details surrounding dyslexia and Irlen syndrome. Awareness is often a first step to opening up conversations and educating a community on a topic they may not know much about.

"If your child isn't reading by at least grade three independently, that's kind of a red flag. Also, someone who has a very hard time linking sounds with their letters, sometimes poor articulation with words, spelling difficulty, basically just falling behind."

Bergen adds, "the written language was created by man, so our brains actually aren't created to be able to read naturally. So that's something to think about."