A father’s road to overcoming dyslexia starts with the birth of his son.

When his son, Luis, was born three years ago, Orlando Cotto felt he could no longer ignore the disability that had been breaking down his self esteem for over 35 years.

“I had been battling with dyslexia all my life but I never knew I had it until recently,” Orlando said. “Maybe I was avoiding it.”

“As a father I wanted to be able to help my son learn to read and write,” Orlando said, “and the thought of that scared the hell of me.”

It was about that same time that Orlando experienced his “ah ha” moment when his wife, Yvonne Hu-Cotto, suggested that he might be dyslexic.

“So I read ‘The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read... and How They Can Learn’ (by Ronald D. Davis and Eldon M. Braun),” he said. “I was in tears. I was seeing myself in the mirror.” “It’s me,” he thought after reading the book, “it was all so crystal clear.”

Growing up in Puerto Rico in the 1970s and ‘80s, Orlando struggled in school. Completing homework assignments was next to impossible.

Despite asking for help, Orlando’s teachers didn’t understand why he couldn’t complete his schoolwork. They often forced him to write sentences over and over, as punishment for his late or incomplete assignments.

One of the lowest points of his life was when he failed the fifth grade. He struggled in every grade thereafter, never finding academic success.

A professional marimbist and percussionist since the eighth grade, Orlando was able to make his way through school, channeling his frustration and anger through music.

“Music was a release for me. It came more naturally,” he said. “I was terrified to read in front of a group of people but I could play music in front of them.”

After graduation from high school he was accepted into the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. While there, Orlando finally achieved academic success, and was recognized as the most outstanding student of his graduating year. “In college I gave it 110 percent but it was still very hard,” he said

From there Orlando attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University having the dual distinction as the first marimbist to receive the Artist Diploma and to win the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition.
In the midst of all his musical successes, it took Orlando 35 years to unlock the mystery of what was causing his challenges with reading and writing. His next steps were to learn to adapt. "I knew I had address it and get help so I could turn this around," he said.

Looking for a solution, he found wordQ + speakQ, assistive technology software.“Oh my god, this is incredible!" Orlando said after using wordQ. "I am bad with spelling in English and Spanish and this helps with both!"

wordQ + speakQ's word prediction, text to speech, and voice recognition features, allow dyslexic writers to develop sentences, expand their vocabulary, and hear misspelled words and punctuation errors as they write. Writers also have the ability to choose between speaking and typing as they write. The program supports millions of individuals, students, teachers, and parents alike, who are working to improve and develop their ability to write.

"I’m an aural person and with wordQ I can hear all of my mistakes," Orlando added. "It’s very helpful."

Having used wordQ for several months Orlando’s confidence is growing. On a scale from 1 to 10, he says his confidence with writing is now at an 8.

“When you are dyslexic and you see words, it’s intimidating,” Orlando said. “I know there are a lot of adults out there with dyslexia who just don’t know--they just cope."

“To have these tools is a great help.”

Orlando Cotto is a successful performing and recording artist. He is also a faculty member at the University of Delaware and Nathan Carter School of Music in Baltimore, MD. Orlando lives in Baltimore with his wife Yvonne Hu-Cotto and their son Luis Matthew Cotto. More information is available online at orlandocotto.com.