BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – Ryan Watson teaches science at China Middle School, helping students learn every day — including by sharing his own story of struggling with dyslexia as a child.
Watson said he first noticed difficulties in first grade.
“I can recall it in first grade overall with the spelling tests,” Watson said. “Hearing the word, then trying to write it out and just trying to match the letter. Is that F or is that PH?”
Watson was held back in first grade because of his spelling difficulties. At first, he tried memorizing as many words as possible.
“Which is a lot harder, especially since the English language has so many words,” he said, chuckling.
It would be two years before Watson was diagnosed with dyslexia and another two years before he began tutoring at the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Bangor. Once there, he was given tools to decode words.
“Did you notice that your schoolwork was starting to improve once you went to the center?” he was asked. “Oh, most definitely,” Watson replied.
Watson said he still uses the techniques he learned at the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Bangor.
The Children’s Dyslexia Center of Bangor opened in 1997 and was one of the first centers of its kind in the country. There are now more than 40 Children’s Dyslexia Centers across 13 states, including two in Maine.
Center Director Laurie Marcotte said the center was modeled after a reading lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, with the goal of expanding access to students who could not reach that program.
“The center was an effort to recreate the reading lab at the Mass General Hospital,” Marcotte said. “And so what the Masons wanted to do was be able to provide kids who didn’t have access to Mass General, the opportunity to work with people who have the same skills.”
The center’s mission includes providing direct instruction to children struggling with dyslexia, as well as training teachers to serve as first responders for students with the disorder.
“Everybody’s caught on. It’s now the science of reading. That you know, the buzzword — structured literacy,” Marcotte said. “So we’ve been just kind of quietly doing what we do here in Bangor.”
Dyslexia is a condition people are born with, and studies show it is genetic in most cases.
Sadly, says Marcotte, a diagnosis is often not given until third of fourth grade, middle school or even high school.
“Dyslexia happens on a spectrum,” she explains. “You can have mild dyslexia all the way up to severe.”
Marcotte said a stigma persists that people with dyslexia are not intelligent.
“The wonderful thing about kids with dyslexia is that they’re incredibly intelligent.”
Marcotte points out dyslexia is called a “specific” learning disability because it only impacts your ability to learn one specific thing.
“You know, some parents and kids, when they find out they have this diagnosis, they feel a heavy weight,” says Marcotte.
And that’s especially true, she says, for adults with dyslexia.
“There’s a misconception and a lot of adults feel like that’s something they kind of have to hide,” she said.
Watson said being open about his experience is part of how he connects with his students.
“That makes me feel good that I’m being a positive impact,” Watson said. “Just being able to take a look and it’s like — oh yeah, he has this, like yeah, I can be successful as well.”
This Saturday, the Mason Rider Association Band of Brothers will host their annual ride to benefit the Bangor Children’s Dyslexia Center.
Breakfast and registration begin at 8 a.m. at the Newport Masonic Hall. Kickstands go up at 10 a.m. The ride ends at the Bangor Children’s Dyslexia Center with a tour and BBQ lunch.
It’s $20 per rider and $30 with a passenger.
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