PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

I was called lazy. I was called stupid. I was told I was not living up to my potential. And all the time inside I’m thinking, I don’t think I’m stupid. I don’t want to be stupid. I’m trying as hard as I can. I really am.”

These are the words of actor and director Henry Winkler, who recounted his difficult childhood living with dyslexia in a story for the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity.

“I was grounded for most of my high school career,” he continued. “[My parents] thought if I stayed at my desk for 6 weeks at a time, I was going to get it and they were just going to put an end to the silliness of my laziness. That was going to be that.”

It wasn’t until Winkler noticed similar learning difficulties in his stepson and had him tested, that he learned, at age 31, that he himself had dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that affects 20% of the population.

Winkler is now 77, and strides have been made over the years in raising awareness of dyslexia and in remediating the condition. But as our contributor Amy Whipple writes, too many children are still struggling in the classroom before their condition is identified. We catch up on the progress at Provident Charter School in Troy Hill, which opened in 2016 as the state’s first public school designed to help students with dyslexia. It’s become so successful — and needed — that Provident Charter School West opened this school year in Beaver County.

Parents say they were lucky to find Provident. It’s been a “lifesaver,” says one.

Find some ideas about how to achieve zen in the chaos of our everyday lives starting here. Many of us are still reeling from the effects of years of the pandemic and how it’s changed our communities — and not always for the better. We show how you can find peace and enlightenment through stargazing, yoga, a soothing massage, birding, paddleboarding under a full moon or hanging out at a comfy cafe.

And let’s not forget that for many of us, October brings our favorite holiday — Halloween. We’ve included a visit to the spooky Castle Blood, a former funeral home in Monessen turned interactive Halloween attraction and an update on Jekyl and Hyde, a South Side bar that celebrates Halloween 24/7/365.

Virginia Linn can be reached at vlinn@pittsburghmagazine.com.