In 2015, Deon Butler was living a dream, playing professional football for the Detroit Lions, but he held a secret: Despite having graduated from college, he could not read past a fourth-grade level.

After getting help, Butler was moved to help others, and today, he's a motivational speaker. He'll share his story at "Breaking Barriers: A Path of Perseverance." The event will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, at The Janus School, 205 Lefever Road, Mount Joy.

Growing up in Michigan, Butler became adept at hiding the secret of his struggle with reading. "I got picked on a lot in middle school and high school, where I was called 'stupid' and 'dumb,'" he recalled. "I bottled it all away, and I got really good at hiding it."

Butler became a master at memorizing, always chose the easiest book to read if he had to read out loud and avoided situations where his secret might come to light.

But as a professional football player, Butler found it difficult to hide his illiteracy.

"There are a lot of words you have to read in football," he said, referencing playbooks and play strategies. He played professionally for a year in 2015 and then started working as an educational liaison for a social services agency.

"I was good at my job, but I couldn't get a promotion," he said. "My supervisors would ask me to document my work, and I couldn't do that."

After his mother passed away just before the pandemic, Butler began to take steps to change his situation. He started seeing a therapist, relied on his faith and found support from his wife.

"My therapist asked, 'What do you like to do?' and I said, 'I like to run,'" he said. "I started running 15 to 20 miles, speaking to God as I'm running. I'm pouring my heart out to God about my frustration and my depression."

Then, he learned his wife was pregnant.

"I realized I want to read books to my daughter," he said. "I want to be that father that reads to his kids every night."

He decided to take a risk: Tell the truth about his illiteracy on social media.

His posts caught the eye of someone from the Michigan Dyslexia Association, who told Butler he might have the disorder.

He began working with a tutor, discovered he did indeed have dyslexia and started working to relearn the right way to read.

"I really had to go backwards at first," he said. "I had developed bad habits of memorizing words. I had to relearn my ABC's, learn how to break down syllables."

Learning to read was a struggle, he admits.

"There were days when I was crying," he said, but he relied on God to see him through. "I had to remember, 'Just let my guard down; let go of my ego.' I also had to forgive myself for the trauma I went through in school."

With lots of hard work, Butler learned to read, and he recalled one day that particularly stood out in his journey.

"I read the Bible out loud," he said. "I cried so hard, because I had never heard myself read something like that out loud."

Motivated by his own success and the support he found on social media throughout his journey with dyslexia, Butler wanted to help more people. He worked with lawmakers to pass a dyslexia bill in Michigan.

Now living in the Pittsburgh area, Butler continues to advocate for reading support services.

"I read a lot now," he said, noting that he's also in the process of writing a book. "I feel like a blind person who is able to see for the first time. I need to read every book."

He's also working with lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Ohio to develop more dyslexia support, and he travels the region to tell his story.

After meeting and speaking with Brenda Keller, director of academics for The Janus School, Butler was impressed with the school's mission.

The Janus School is the only independent school in central Pennsylvania dedicated to helping students with language- or math-based learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, executive function difficulties, nonverbal learning disorder or auditory processing disorder. The school serves students from seven Pennsylvania counties.

When Butler visits the school in April, he will interact with students and teachers throughout the day on Friday, April 25, and he will share his story in an assembly.

His April 26 event will be open to the public, and Keller hopes his talk will draw a wide range of audience members, from families of students to community members and literary specialists.

"We warmly invite you to attend and encourage you to invite family, friends, teammates, organizations and colleagues," Keller said. "Let's come together to hear Deon's powerful message and celebrate the incredible work of The Janus School."

Tickets are required to attend the public event. To learn more or to purchase tickets, visit https://thejanusschool.org/breaking_barriers.