12. Hayley Frazer

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In August 2019, Hayley Frazer published her first book – 'Something a Little Different'.

Originating as a Year 7 English assignment, the book found its way into libraries across Australia – in both physical and e-book copies – and was shortlisted for the 2020 Speech Pathology of the Year Awards in the Year 8-10 category.

Being a young person with dyslexia, it was a frightening prospect to publish a book and was something Hayley assumed she wouldn’t be able to do.

With encouragement from her mentors and psychologist, in only two years Hayley’s book was published. She met with Deb from Tea Tree Gully Library who helped her set up her first launch event, and the rest is history.

Launching her book at the Tea Tree Gully Library was quite fitting, as Hayley and her friends spent many Saturday afternoons playing games and exploring the range of dyslexia-friendly books like graphic novels.

“It’s great to have support when you feel like you don’t have much. Even though dyslexia [may not be as big as other issues], it’s still an issue people have to deal with and struggle with, so it’s good there’s support out there.”

Hear more of Hayley's story: