Driving south down Main Street in River Falls the past few weeks, you may have noticed the St. Croix Lanes bowling sign congratulating the Co-op girls' fifth-place finish at the 26th annual High School State Bowling Championship in Green Bay in March. You may have driven right on by and not given it a second thought.

River Falls' senior Payten Kusilek is one of the best high school female bowlers in the state. She averages a 210! Again, for those not interested in bowling, you may not give this story a second thought and turn to the police reports. 

Kusilek has a story to tell and she's far too nice and empathetic to tell it, so that's where I come in.

Kusilek was as busy as a camera flash on the red carpet this past weekend. Prom was on Saturday and early Sunday morning, Payten, her dad, Craig, and her mom, Ellen, hopped in a car and drove to Elgin, Ill., to sign her college scholarship papers to bowl for the Judson University Eagles for the next four years. Judson's RISE program is one of the few in the country where special needs students live on campus and other students, such as Payten, gain first-hand experience for their special education teaching degree.

"My mom and dad got sick of giving me quarters to go play video games when they were watching my brother (Carter) bowl," said Payten. "So I just started bowling in the junior league at St. Croix Lanes when I was 8 or 9."

It's ironic how we find our paths in life, how we find our own lane in which to travel. St. Croix Lanes was where Payten found her path.

Payten will read this story about herself in the Pierce County Journal, but it will be an exhaustive task to do so. Reading and comprehension has been an on-going struggle for her since she's been in school. In a bittersweet moment filled with tears of relief, Payten was diagnosed with dyslexia before the start of her junior year.

"She became really good at faking it and being able to make it," said her mom, Ellen. "Melisa Hansen at the high school has been a savior."

"Payten and I developed a relationship here at school," said Hansen. "And I knew she was struggling and my heart went out to her. We're all teachers and we all want to help and she was in this bubble we aren't sure how. It just makes her story that much more beautiful. She is a unique soul and found a path through bowling to help her have a well-rounded life."

In bowling, the 7-pin is called the "Mother-In-Law," and "7" was a lucky number for Payten. Hansen is the College and Career Services Coordinator at River Falls High School but her background is in special education. Hansen's actual mother-in-law is renowned educational psychologist Dr. Dorothy Morrison. Having direct access to Dr. Morrison is like picking up a 5-7-10 split.

Dr. Morrison is semi-retired now but used to be the director of The Ohio State Reading Clinic. She also has served on the Wisconsin Guidebook Committee and the Wisconsin State Reading Association.

"Wisconsin has been behind the nation in diagnosing dyslexia and recognizing it," said Morrison. "The teachers taught in most Wisconsin colleges simply do not know how to teach the foundation of reading. They are focused on literature, which is wonderful, but they try to teach without teaching the foundation."

According to Morrison, the state of Wisconsin still has resistance to naming dyslexia. She says it is very real, affecting kids' lives.

"It changes their lives if the kids get an early diagnosis and get the help they need," said Morrison.

The most recent Mayo Clinic study reported 1 in 20 children have dyslexia at one extreme or the other. About 11% of those kids are severely impacted.

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as, "a lack of ability to read as unexpected."

"The unexpected comes in because the kids are achieving in other areas," said Morrison. "The network for reading has to be built and teachers have to build it. If teachers don't know how to build it, it doesn't get done."

Morrison now lives in the Danbury, Wis., area and helps supervise coaches and teachers to become reading certified in the Orton Gillingham International program. Morrison says dyslexia is a phonological processing issue and many teachers and parents think it's a phonological awareness issue.

"The younger we catch them and help them, the better," said Morrison. "If you look for the very young readers who struggle with that letter sound connections, that's a red flag. The sad thing is, not all kids with dyslexia have parents like Payten does."

BDAdyselxia.org reports dyslexic children tend to have strong visual skills and spatial awareness enabling them to anticipate where the ball is going in sports, Magic Johnson, being one of them. Those with dyslexia have been known to have an innate "feel" for their sport and they tend to trust their instincts more than their peers. British intelligence has long used people with dyslexia in their intelligence because those with dyslexia are more able to see patterns within patterns. Those with dyslexia understand angles and are highly empathetic. They are also predominately left-handed, according to data. 

Understanding angles, having empathy, and being left-handed has led Payten Kusilek down a bowling lane all the way to a college scholarship and, few will doubt, a degree in special education.

"It doesn't matter how you bowl on the lanes," said Payten. "It's more about how you push yourself to bowl on the lanes. Your attitude guides the bowling ball."

A great approach on the lane can be just as important as a great approach to life. Payten has been lucky. It's long overdue for Wisconsin education to pick up the spare in diagnosing dyslexia. Wisconsin is at the national reading average as a state, but that number has been declining. It's time to find our lane and go to work on teaching our kids how to read, or we can drive right on by and not give it a second thought. That's what we've been doing for over 20 years.