Q. Yours is a new position with the Hawai'i Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

A. HIDA's board of directors are all volunteers and most have various reasons (for being) involved with dyslexia — they have it or their children have it — and their time is taxed. So I'm going to lead the organization in developing new programs to provide more services to people who have dyslexia. You have to be tested to really have a diagnosis of dyslexia and testing can be $500 to $600. The Department of Education, through No Child Left Behind, will do it and even children in private schools can be tested through the DOE.

But the DOE is an overtaxed organization and it becomes cumbersome, so any help that we can provide the DOE for our specific group of people, children with dyslexia, that's a good thing. We will actually pay for tutoring for disadvantaged children with dyslexia and we want to expand that program. October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and we have an annual fundraiser to raise money for the children.

Q. As someone with dyslexia yourself, you had difficulty early in your schooling.

A. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that happens within the brain. It's not a disease. You cannot catch it and you cannot cure it. At 'Aikahi Elementary, my mom was always struggling with me to read and I remember wanting to, but not being able to read very well. My last name has four vowel sounds — an "O," an "E," an "A" and a "Y" — and I couldn't spell my last name for the longest time.

I remember crumbling up math quizzes and hiding them in my desk and pretending I handed them in because I knew I had done everything wrong and I didn't want to be continually embarrassed. In the seventh grade, I was at Fairfax County on the Mainland and I misspelled the word "much" and would spell it "mush." It was a clear sign and I was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. When I went to Castle High School I was put into all of the slow classes. But I'm not slow; I'm very fast and then I got put into the fast track.

After Castle, I went to Leeward Community College because my mom found a learning disability specialist there, Lynne Douglas, and I was able to get tutoring for the three years I was there.

Then I went to the KOKUA Program at UH where they work with people with all disabilities — athletes who broke a hand and couldn't take notes in class, to quadriplegics. I had note-takers sitting next to me in class, I had my tests read to me and my eyes opened up to the world. So I credit Kokua and Leeward and the UH system.

Q. History is filled with famous people with dyslexia, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Ben Franklin, Walt Disney, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Tom Cruise.

A. Dyslexia has nothing to do with your success in life. With these accommodations, I realized I could do this. My strength has turned out to be the nonprofit sector. That has been my calling.

Q. How many people are there with dyslexia in Hawai'i?

A. It's estimated that 5 (percent) to 15 percent of the general U.S. population has dyslexia, so that pertains to Hawai'i. Most people don't know they have dyslexia. Parents or teachers think their children just aren't applying themselves or they're lazy. Our prison population is absolutely full of people with learning disabilities.

So folks that don't get diagnosed and don't get treatment are more likely to drop out of high school and people that drop out of high school are more likely to commit crimes and people who commit crimes are more likely to end up in prison.

Q. What role can HIDA play in helping parents or people who don't know whether they have dyslexia?

A. There are resources on our Web site, www.dyslexia-hawaii.org. It talks about common signs of dyslexia, where they can go for help and what they can do themselves. We offer scholarships for tutoring. We'll help parents with whom to talk to at their school to get their children tested. Depending on the details of your plan, HMSA and Kaiser and other insurance plans will cover the cost of therapy.

Q. And you want to get more teachers involved with your organization, as well?

A. Yes, teachers in both public and private schools. It's a misnomer that just because you're in private school, you're getting the best education. You can still struggle in a private school with dyslexia.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.