Dyslexia advocate Georgia Ryan has been invited to the United Nations in an effort to get the learning difficulty recognised on a global scale.
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The Year 11 MacKillop College student is a member of the International Dyslexia Council, which has been working on a proposal to have the United Nations declare October 8 as World Dyslexia Day.
Georgia said she felt free after receiving her diagnosis of dyslexia and dysgraphia in her final year of primary school.
Dyslexia results in Georgia's reading difficulty, while dysgraphia results in writing challenges.
"It meant there was a reason why I had been struggling to keep up with my peers," she said.
"[It] gave me back the power to navigate my own path through school, and to access resources to help me."
Georgia is the youngest person on the International Dyslexia Council and wants to help others.
"I want all young people with dyslexia to feel 'seen' and supported," she said.
"I want them to know there is help available and there are others going through the same challenges.
"They are part of a global community."
Georgia is proud to be part of the council, which is a collegiate consultative body set up to organise policies related to people with dyslexia at a global level.
"We're basically a group of like-minded advocates from around the world working together to have dyslexia recognised globally," she said.
According to the Australian Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is conservatively estimated to impact about 10 per cent of the Australian population.
However, the organisation notes in other English speaking countries (first language) the figures are estimated to be up to 20 per cent.
Georgia said there has been no global recognition of dyslexia, despite dyslexia being the most common learning disability.
Georgia is about to sit her Year 11 exams and is feeling nervous in the lead up.
However, she said she's lucky to attends a school which supports her learning differences.
Georgia encourages others to seek support if they need it.
"Dyslexia and any kind of struggle in school, can be incredibly isolating, overwhelming and often has a huge impact on our self-esteem," she said.
"I hope that having dyslexia recognised globally with World Dyslexia Day might help others to realise they aren't alone."
