The Runaway Learning Machine: Growing Up Dyslexic

In The Runaway Learning Machine, occupational therapist James Bauer tells us what it was like to grow up with undiagnosed dyslexia. You will experience the pain and embarrassment this shy little boy felt as teachers and parents ignored his learning disability and simply encouraged him to “try harder.”

The Runaway Learning Machine is a must-read for anyone who works with children in a learning environment.

When James graduated from high school, he was reading, writing and spelling at less than a third-grade level despite the best efforts of the educational system, which had him enrolled in special reading programs for the entire twelve years. At graduation, James thought he was "uniquely flawed" and had fooled or manipulated the school system for twelve years. At age twenty, following graduation from a technical college and still reading, writing and spelling at less than a third-grade level, James was diagnosed as severely dyslexic by his future tutor, C. Wilson Anderson. In a five-year period, using the Orton Gillingham approach, Wilson brought James from a third-grade reading level non-reader to college level.Today, James is a Registered Occupational Therapist practicing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees. After graduation, his master's thesis/position paper was published as a book titled The Runaway Learning Machine. This first book was then discovered by the theater community and written into a play. It debuted in the Minneapolis area in 2005 and performed in London in 2007.James went on to write two more books: Too Much Time on Sycamore Street is a self-help book written from one dyslexic person to another. Do You Know How to Pick Berries is based on a true story that took place in 1967 between a high school student with dyslexia and a young man with Down Syndrome who was placed in a Minnesota state hospital by commitment.James has spoken throughout the Upper Midwest on the topic of dyslexia and in Canada, Brazil, England, Luxembourg and Hawaii. He has also facilitated support groups and weekend retreats for dyslexic adults.The play The Runaway Learning Machine has enjoyed successful runs at the Lyric Arts/MainStreet Stage, Anoka, 2005; Misfits Productions, East London, 2007; and The Children's Performing Arts/Hanifl Center for Performing Arts, 2019.During his leisure time, James enjoys performing on his twelve-string guitar with his wife, Molly, in coffee houses and in Northern Minnesota.