By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

PHOTO: Shelby Sisk, Chris Olivares, and Fyffe Mayor Paul Cagle decorate billboards at Fyffe High School in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month. (Marla Jones | Southern Torch)

FYFFE, Ala. — Last year, 10-year-old Shelby Sisk, a 5th grader at Fyffe Elementary School, spoke at the Fyffe City Council and asked them to sign a proclamation declaring the month of October as Dyslexia Awareness Month. 

Dyslexia is a term for learning disorders that involve difficulty reading due to identifying speech sounds and how they relate to letter and words.

This year, Sisk hand delivered similar proclamations to Rainsville, Geraldine, Sylvania and Henagar, who also signed them. 

Shelby, who was diagnosed with dyslexia after showing difficulty in reading, reading comprehension and spelling. She excels in math, softball and volleyball. 

Dyslexia can cause anxiety and depression because children label themselves as "dumb." Shelby has worked to overcome those thoughts about herself. She knows that she is intelligent, she only sees things differently as other kids.

Her goal is to get the community to become more aware of the signs of dyslexia and that it is okay, and there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Shelby, along with Chris Olivares, who also suffers from dyslexia, joined Fyffe Mayor Paul Cagle in decorating the halls of Fyffe School with information on dyslexia in order to make their fellow students more aware.