Findlay got the first inkling the way she learned was different to other kids while in the early days of primary school.

The rest of her prep class was having no trouble learning how to spell their names.

"But it was taking me forever," Findlay says.

She knew she had a "kind of odd name what with the silent D".

But still, she remembers wondering why everyone else could write out their names, while she could not.

"I knew that there was something different — I just really wasn't sure what it was and I didn't really care about it then, because no one was being mean to me at that point," Findlay says.

Findlay, pictured on her first day at school, knew something was different in prep. ( Supplied: Findlay )

Findlay didn't have to wait long to find out what was up

Soon enough, her parents took her to see a specialist.

It was there she was given a word to explain the difficulty she was experiencing at school.

Dyslexia — a learning difficulty that makes it harder to read and write.

A decade and some years later, Findlay has made it to year 12. Her teachers know how to support her, and the kids at school are understanding of her learning difficulty.

But it was not always this way.

Findlay's lived experience with dyslexia and others' perceptions of it have made it very clear to her what people get right about it.

They have also made the things we get wrong about dyslexia — which affects an estimated 10 per cent of our population according to the Australian Dyslexia Association (ADA) — very obvious to her.

What happened when she got the right support

From the beginning, Findlay's parents were open with her about what was going on.

"Because of that, I haven't ever really felt insecure about my dyslexia in myself, because I know that I'm smart and I know that I'm capable," she says.

And she describes the school she was going to at the time as "really pro-dyslexia".

"They let me use a tiny laptop in class that helped me with spelling and writing," Findlay remembers fondly.

The school also made sure she had weekly access to a counsellor, as well as an aide in class.

She says those resources were key in helping her feel comfortable at school.

Then everything changed again

But when she was about 10 years old, Findlay's family moved states, which also meant a change of schools.

With it, came the first time she says she experienced people not only questioning her academic ability but also "humiliating" her over her dyslexia.

"I had a fair few negative experiences with people judging me on my ability and then dismissing me because they thought I might not be as intelligent because of my grades and the effort I put in, which was impacted by my dyslexia," Findlay says.

"I didn't try as hard or put in as much effort at the start because I didn't feel I could do as well as others because of my dyslexia."

Findlay remembers wondering why she could not pick up the spelling of her name. ( ABC Heywire: Yasmin Jeffery )

Things ended up getting better.

"There are teachers I've really bonded with who really get my dyslexia," the 17-year-old says.

"My first school was helpful. But at my current school, there's also that personal connection — they really empathise with me."

Experts in the past have linked dyslexia to IQ. They don't anymore

According to ADA president Jodi Clements, the stigma surrounding dyslexia that Findlay and others like her have experienced comes from old research.

"In the past, the term 'IQ' has been vastly overused with dyslexia," she explains.

"This is because over 20 years ago, researchers thought dyslexia may be related to IQ.

"But dyslexia is actually best identified when you've got someone who's got very good oral capacity. So, they can take in spoken language — known as receptive language — but they struggle with reading and writing.

"And they also tend to be able to express themselves verbally really well."

These days, to work out whether someone has dyslexia, Ms Clements explains, "we look at strong oral language skills as opposed to reading skills. IQ is gone".

Anne Castles, a professor of cognitive science at the Macquarie University Centre for Reading, agrees the early link made between dyslexia and IQ has stuck in the mind of the public, resulting in the stigma attached to dyslexia.

She explains how this stigma goes on to affect people with dyslexia: "It often isn't made clear to people with dyslexia that it's just something that they experience in relation to learning to read and write, it doesn't relate to their abilities in other areas."

"This results in kids with dyslexia often developing anxiety around their academic skills, and so they will choose not to do much reading because it's an unpleasant experience for them," Professor Castles adds.

"And then they struggle more because they're reading less. It's a vicious cycle."

Findlay says people have assumed she is not intelligent because of her dyslexia. ( Supplied: Findlay )

People with dyslexia can do well at school

Findlay says she dealt with people thinking she was "incapable of school itself" when she was younger.

They have quite literally been proved wrong.

In year eight, she topped her English class for the first time, going on to do the same every subsequent year.

And last year she received an award for academic excellence.

"Someone might have dyslexia, but just because they can't spell well doesn't mean they can't write.

"Just because they can't write well doesn't mean they can't read.

"Just because they can't read doesn't mean they can't think," she says.

The 17-year-old believes the answer to academic success for dyslexic people lies in teachers "showing and helping dyslexic kids be able to see their potential".

Findlay is just one example, but the experts say she is right.

'Out with diagnosis, in with identification'

Ms Clements says schools need to reach out for evidence-based information about what dyslexia is, how they can assist students, and what can happen to students' social and emotional wellbeing when dyslexia is not detected.

This is key, she says, because of how schools are currently dealing with students who present with learning difficulties.

"At the moment, parents are identifying a problem with their kids and then they're being directed into the medical field, even though dyslexia has been localised to reading and writing difficulties.

"And the poor parent and child either misses out completely on being, you know, so-called diagnosed, or the parent goes on a wild goose chase from each different allied medical professional only to find out they're not getting a report that the school understands, which delays them getting help.

"When you think about where reading and writing are taught, and where it should be taught, the answer is in schools."

This is why we need to "upskill schools in how to identify dyslexia as early as possible", Ms Clements says.

Then there is the question of how to help the students who have been identified as having dyslexia.

"What we know about intervening to assist children with dyslexia is the sort of things you do are very much the same sorts of things you would do to teach reading in children that don't have dyslexia," Professor Castles says.

"They still will learn the same way. It's just typically they will require more intensive intervention and instruction.

"The important thing is to identify the children who need it and listen to their experiences."

Meanwhile, Findlay wants it to be known: "We can be the smart kids."

The ABC's Heywire competition is open to all regional Australians aged between 16 and 22.

The annual competition provides a platform for the younger generation, in pockets of Australia that rarely see the spotlight, to "tell it like it is".

This year's winners were selected from close to 700 entries.

If you are aged between 16 and 22 and would like to find out more about the next ABC Heywire Regional Youth Summit, go to the ABC Heywire website.