PHOTO BY FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM COMPOSITE BY DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Amy Ferguson-Ota grew up with dyslexia at a time when the disorder was not well understood. Now a successful chef, she has organized the Hook 'N' Cook fishing tournament to raise funds for Read to Me International.

Hooked on books

A chef's experience with dyslexia
prompts a fishing tournament
to benefit literacy

Dyslexia info
Fish fest fundraiser

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By Betty Shimabukuro
betty@starbulletin.com

A child learns to walk, to talk and, eventually, to read. It comes naturally. Except when it doesn't. Some children can't make sense of A-B-C, can't decode cat-hat-sat.

Hook 'N' Cook These events are part of the Big Island Festival. For more on that event, see below. Tournament Teams of anglers take to boats and compete for the highest catch. When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 2 Place: Kailua Pier Cost per team: $1,500 to $5,000, including onboard chefs and meals (the higher the sponsorship, the fancier the meals). Kau-Kau Division, $350, doesn't include those extras. Call: (808) 329-7371 Beach Bash-Barbecue Celebrity chefs will prepare the catch. Dinner is served: 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 3 Place: Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort Cost: $55 in advance; $65 for adults ($24 for children) Call: (808) 324-2504

"When people have learning difficulties, sometimes they need to be taught in different ways," says Amy Ferguson-Ota.

That's not an educator talking; it's a chef.

Ferguson-Ota, executive chef of Oodles of Noodles in Kona, grew up with dyslexia at a time when the disorder was not well understood.

"I'd look at a sign, 'Municipal Airport,' and say, 'Look! There's Munchipal!' ... I couldn't say 'aluminum,' either. Who created that word?" she says.

In a couple of weeks, Ferguson-Ota will be taking some people fishing -- as many as 100 of them, including several fellow chefs. The idea of Hook 'N' Cook, part of the Big Island Festival, is a day of sun, sea and sportsmanship, and to catch fish that the chefs will give the gourmet treatment at dinner. But the larger idea is to raise money for Read to Me International, a charity Ferguson-Ota chose specifically because of her background.

In the mid-1960s, when she was in elementary school, young Amy's parents took her to doctors all around their Houston-area home, seeking a diagnosis.

"Nobody had the term 'dyslexia' back then," she says.

By age 11, what they'd established was that she had a good IQ, but that perhaps her eye muscles were weak. She came to believe her mind just "wasn't wired correctly." She could read, but not well.

The International Dyslexia Association defines the disorder as a language-based learning disability that causes problems decoding words. The result is a problem with reading, writing and spelling. Research has shown that dyslexics are of normal to above-average intelligence who process information differently, using a different part of the brain.

In Ferguson-Ota's case, she'd often get her letters scrambled and found it hard to see the division of words in sentences. "It just meant that I had to work harder."

In a way, those reading difficulties helped focus her interests at an early age.

"Obviously, I wasn't going to go into my room and read a book or help the family with the crossword puzzle," she says.

Instead, she learned to cook, although not from recipes. "I watched and copied," she says. She still doesn't have much use for recipes. Reading wasn't crucial in the kitchen, where she could begin with technique -- learning to use a knife and such. You don't need recipes as much as an understanding of proportions, she says. "You have to have ratios. I have no problem with ratios."

Eventually, cooking got her over the hump with reading. In her desire to learn more about technique, she turned to cooking references, such as Auguste Escoffier's cooking guides and "Larousse Gastronomique."

She can't exactly describe her approach, except to say, "I had to read and re-read, and then go and practice."

Such hands-on learning is often a very effective way of helping dyslexic children, says Sally Lambert, co-president of the International Dyslexia Association's Hawaii chapter. Multisensory forms of teaching that incorporate science, art, music and physical activity can provide the key to convincing children that they can read. "It's not unusual for people with difficulty reading to become interested in a field where there's hands-on, concrete work to do."

WHEN SHE CONCEIVED the Hook 'N' Cook fund-raiser, Ferguson-Ota wanted the beneficiary to be a literacy group and settled on Read to Me International, which is establishing a West Hawaii chapter.

Read to Me doesn't deal specifically with dyslexia; instead, it focuses on providing parents with the will and the way to read to their children.

"We have a really simple mission: that every child will be read to, every day, for at least 10 minutes," says Lynne Waihee, the former first lady who now heads the Hawaii chapter of Read to Me.

Studies have shown that the practice improves a child's language and listening skills, vocabulary, critical thinking and grammar, besides promoting a close relationship with parents and an appreciation of literature, Waihee says.

"We think it should be forever, even when children are in college," she says.

The group makes books and reading lists available, provides literacy packets to new parents, makes presentations to elementary schools and sponsors an annual conference promoting the concept.

When children have problems reading, approaches like this are crucial, Ferguson-Ota says. "It's kind of like arming people with tools."

THE CHEF STILL grapples with her dyslexia. "I still to this day see numbers bass-ackwards, as I call it," she says.

These days, she sometimes has to rely on recipes, especially when baking, and will occasionally get a quantity mixed up. Recently, that's meant ruining a 60-quart batch of foccacia dough -- "it was either the weight of the salt or the yeast" -- and a morning's waffle batter -- "two times the butter, too much milk and half the eggs."

She has very trustworthy bookkeeper who protects her from herself when it comes to the accounts, and a staff that understands. For example, "I am not allowed to write down quantities," she says.

Whatever the official definition of dyslexia, Ferguson-Ota prefers to describe it as a "difference" in learning and won't label it as painful in any way. "Don't say 'agonize,' don't say 'suffer,' don't say 'disability,'" she says.

This became especially important a few years ago, when her son, Nick, began having trouble reading. In the third grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia.

"I explained to him what he was experiencing," Ferguson-Ota says. "I used the label freely -- dyslexia. I tried to make it more palatable. It's OK."

Nick, now 12, doesn't share her problems with numbers, and he is reading. "He was able to come up with his own system," Ferguson-Ota says.

Kids with dyslexia just learn differently, she says, and it's up to teachers and parents to help them find the way.

Lambert, who is raising a child with dyslexia herself, agrees. Testing and individual attention are critical to determining how best to help each child, she says. "Every single person is so different."

The best approach is a teaching method that focuses on what a child can do, not a traditional method that is simply frustrating, Lambert says. "Having success makes a huge difference."

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More info The Hawaii Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, is sponsoring these events in October: Expanding Literacy: Cocktails, and entertainment at a Tantalus home, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25. Tickets are $100, to benefit tutoring programs. Fall Symposium: Dr. Robert Brooks, author, speaker and practitioner in the area of learning differences will speak; 9 a.m. Oct. 26, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. Registration is $30 until Friday; $5 more after. Call: 538-7007, e-mail info@hibida.org or visit www.interdys.org.

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FOOD NETWORK "Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto is a featured guest at the Big Island Festival.

Big Island Festival

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A five-day "ultimate lifestyle festival" is planned for resorts along the Kona and Kohala coasts, Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, featuring activities that showcase the area's golf courses, luxury spas, farms, music and cultural offerings. But food will play a major part, in the form of cooking classes and upscale dining.

Featured chefs include Andre Soltner of New York's Lutece and Masaharu Morimoto, "Iron Chef" Japanese of the cult-hit cooking show. They'll be joined by eight of the 11 Best New Chefs in America 2002, selected by Food & Wine magazine.

A $200 kamaaina Festival Pass includes admission to the Festival Pavilion at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, site of tastings and seminars. Evening events at the Kona Village, Waikoloa and Mauna Lani resort properties are separate purchases.

See the full schedule online at www.bigislandfestival.com, or call 866-424-FEST. Here are some of the highlights:

Oct. 30

A Traditional Hawaiian Evening at Kona Village Resort: Reception, dinner and entertainment celebrating Hawaiian and South Pacific cuisines; 5 to 8:30 p.m., $105.

Oct. 31

Classical Desserts Made Simple: Interactive demonstration by pastry Chef David Brown on creme brulee, crepes and soufflés. Includes champagne and port tasting; 1 to 3 p.m., Hilton Waikoloa, $45.

The Party: Master mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim from Bellagio in Las Vegas headlines, along with Mike Anthony and Dan Barber of Blue Hill in New York, Suzanne Tracht of Jar in Los Angeles and Hawaii chefs Roy Yamaguchi, D.K. Kodama and Russell Siu for an evening of food, wine and sake tasting, as well as ghost stories and entertainment; 7 p.m., Waikoloa Beach Resort, $85.

Nov. 1

Beachboys Bash: The Food Network's Curtis Aikens hosts an outdoor dining festival. Includes canoe rides, weaving classes, konane tournament and entertainment by Kohala and Sean Naauao; 6 to 9 p.m., the Orchid at Mauna Lani, $70 .

Andre Soltner Dinner: Five-course French menu blending classical cuisine with new world wines; 6 to 9 p.m., Donatoni's Restaurant, Hilton Waikoloa Village, $75.

Nov. 2

7th Annual Big Island Tomato Tasting: Follow along with the judges evaluating locally grown tomatoes, from cherry to beefsteak; 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Merriman's Waimea Restaurant. Free, as seating permits.

Taste of Mauna Lani Under the Hula Moon: Hawaii chefs Alan Wong and Peter Merriman join the Mauna Lani's Edwin Goto; 6 to 9 p.m., Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, $95.

Chef's Table with Andre Soltner: Soltner and the Hilton's Wilhelm Pirngruber lead a back-of-the-house tour of the Hilton Waikoloa's kitchens, then host a hands-on cooking demonstration and four-course luncheon; 11 to 2 p.m., $55.

Nov. 3

Iron Chef Morimoto Seminar: 10 a.m., Hilton Waikoloa Village, free with Festival pass.

Big Island Cook-off: Morimoto hosts a battle between Hawaii chefs and the Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2002; 11 a.m., Hilton Waikoloa, free with Festival pass.

Click for online
calendars and events.