People who have dyslexia and their supporters will be racing to finish 5K walks and 5K and 10K runs during the seventh annual 10K by the Bay on Saturday, October 15 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Masonic Youth Center, 116 Long St., Warwick.

Participants’ rush to the finish line helps the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island provide effective multisensory structured language education to children who have dyslexia, which may also be identified by other terms, and graduate-level training to adults who want to be tutors. Since the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island opened over 15 years ago, more than 400 students have been tutored and about 100 tutors have been trained all without charge to the participants.

About 17 percent of the population has dyslexia, a language disability that affects reading and writing but not cognitive ability. Though dyslexia is not curable, specialized instruction like the Orton-Gillingham tutoring provided at the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island can improve the reading and writing difficulties that often makes school exceedingly difficult and undermines self-esteem. October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, but people with dyslexia and those who love them are aware of dyslexia and its effects every day.

Parents often struggle to find effective and affordable instruction for their children and are relieved the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island provides them with hope for their children’s futures. A third-grade student immediately recognized that things are different at the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island. “They understand me here,” she gleefully exclaimed. A fifth-grade student was reluctant to begin tutoring, but after one lesson he exclaimed, “I want to come back tomorrow!” He, too, is racing to read.

Runners and walkers can help people with dyslexia race toward reading by registering for the 10K by the Bay through a link on the center’s website (dyslexia.org) or searching for the 10K by the Bay on the race database site, raceit.com. The race and the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Rhode Island is also supported by generous local companies including Carpenter-Jenks Funeral Home and Crematory, Priority Automotive Group, and Adelphi Masonic Lodge #33. The Children’s Dyslexia Center is a 501(c)(3) corporation.