Last year for my youngest's birthday we did almost nothing. She didn't ask for anything besides a…read morecake. And we could barely understand that request. But THIS year we had the whole extended family over, Pokemon balloons, an oreo ice cream cake, BBQ chicken, pokeballs and pokemon plushes in wrapping paper, AND we went to Windward Mall earlier in the day so she could ride the "unicorn" and eat lunch at Panda's. Some of you Pinterest-y mommies may find that unimpressive, but in Angela's world that is a serious celebration. Why the change? Well, last year we couldn't understand what she was saying. Also, she didn't ask for anything. We're not even sure she was all that aware of her birthday and she didn't seem to harbor any sort of expectations for it, which compelled us to more ardently seek out medical advice. She was labeled speech delayed, did not qualify for Special-ed (just BARELY missed it, so super comforting) and we were left with the option of paying $100/hour for speech therapists. UNTIL, my gorgeous angel of a friend told me about Scottish Rite and our lives changed forever. My daughter has been attending the preschool since March and she LOVES it. She wakes up everyday absolutely excited about attending and I think she actually dislikes the weekend, which is mind boggling. Class is only from 9-11:30 am, but I think it is the perfect amount of time for her. She has one-on-one speech sessions every week and the preschool consists of only ten students all led by a host of highly qualified speech therapists. She wouldn't sit through a book before and now she loves them. She is always singing songs and chattering about things she learned in school. She draws pictures and writes her name and looks for her favorite books from class in the library and finally mastered using the toilet front-wards. She can stand in line and cooperate and share and take turns and put things away and uses SENTENCES. Sentences, people. She can also make a bunch of requests for her birthday :) These are all things she didn't really do. Before Scottish Rite I was the only one who could understand her. She couldn't even consistently answer "how old are you" and "what is your name", despite our efforts to teach her. She still has a ways to go, but the change has been amazing and we are so very very thankful. Thank you Scottish Rite! You ROCK! Hard. In an educational, speech-y way. Yes.

This organization provides speech and language therapy in a preschool setting for 3-5 year old…read morechildren. It's M-F 9 - 11:30am but I believe in a few years they may be offering full time hours (yay! for future students). They are AMAZING, caring, nurturing, driven and excited in wanting to help your child develop and excel. They see the potential in all the children and know just how to how to work it. They create a personalized learning environment for each of the children based on their individual needs which is so unheard of in this day and age. I am so thankful that they are in our lives. We are a very appreciative family and will never forget what they have done.

Our son originally went to Saint Louis and although that did him well till 7th grade, in the 8th…read moregrade he began o have problems and went from an A student to an F student. We figured it was too much to pay for poor performance so we had him go to Kaimuki Middle School till we figured out what he really needed. Kaimuki Middle School didn't do anything for him either and the teacher's concern was worse than Saint Louis. After reviewing his needs and through recommendation of a friend we sent him to Halau Kumana for 9th grade. An immersion school, we liked that it has a Hawaiian cultural focus and an emphasis on experiential learning. The classes are small and the teachers are really involved. Sadly, there is a wait list and openings are done by lottery. It was a rough adjustment and the change wasn't quick, but we feel that he is doing the best at Halau Kumana and believe that he's going to be okay.

I love this place for my child. The rbts are nice and attentive and my daughter's BCABA is amazing…read more Thank you for easing my anxiety. My child loves this place as well..

Loveland Academy is a place of miracles! My son has been receiving day treatment services from…read moretheir professional, compassionate staff for years. His individual, unique needs are being met, and he continues to make progress in this small, nurturing environment. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

From the owner: Loveland Academy provides an array of state of the art, research based, child and family centered,…read moreculturally sensitive, therapeutic and educational services targeting the biological, educational, social and emotional needs of children who require non-traditional teaching in order to receive maximum benefit from their education. The goal of Loveland Academy is to integrate the best aspects of education with the best practices in therapeutic and mental health treatments into a cohesive package for children who need 1:1 attention, intensive behavioral teaching, positive behavior management, and more mature independent learning, social-emotional, play and communication skills, self-monitoring, self-regulation and coping strategies. Loveland Academy offers many layers of programing from K-5 Montessori based academics, 6-12 Middle and High School programs, Vocational track and career development both at our school in Makiki and at our Vocational Program at Waiahole Nursery and Garden Center

Coming out of the office, I return the polite smiles and greeting of the incoming track team…read moremembers as they return from a run... I wait outside the gate and hear the dismissal bell... Kids file into the carpool area... It's so refreshing to hear the simple chatter from the carpool benches.... The chatter is not so simple at all actually... Some younger voices mix in with the mixed pitch of the older voices, discussing supportive reasons for why "it has to BE via the use of electricity..." Says the shorter kid to the very tall older one, and other colorful discussions mix in with the somersaults of laughter and cheerful noises... The group among the benches is a fun display of a rainbow of uniqueness each child sporting their own style of clothing... Free form talking free form choices... Amazingly one teacher use able to identify each car and it's matching parents and every child's name calling out the childs name there have been 30 cars so far! Seeming to know every car for every child and preteen as more roll in to pick up their happy child, the upbeat teacher spots them out easily as they approach. One kid calls out to the well known teacher, "Byye, I love you" amid praise and "aww" from some kids and embarrassed chuckles from preteen boys. Peer support here. It seems more true to say Ohana support exists here. As the carpool line has a pause the chatter continues, a school performance arts instructor encourages a few kids "OK why don't you start practicing it..." One or 2 early teen male voices start to sing and the oh so telling voice (of change) cracks between high/low notes and gets fun remarks from his peers as they show off their squeaks to share in the moment. The carpool line starts up again, more carpool line chatter... The Physical fitness instructor honors a selfy request and one kid calls to another "wait" as the day seems to come soon to an end. "Thanks Mom" one kid says as the car wheels slowly roll away... Assets... The day ends too soon.

Having sent two children to Assets for two years each, this school is very misleading. With their…read morehefty tuition they claim they don't have enough resources. They are not personable or transparent. Please invest your money into a better specialty school that can help your children reach their highest potential.

This is a wonderful ABA facility. The team is friendly, and communication is clear and concise. My…read morechild is autistic and mastered many skills while attending, including being more social. Dianna is knowledgeable, helpful, and observant. More importantly, they have parents sit in to see how their child has progressed. This also helps parents reinforce those learned task(s) at home.

From the owner: AIM Hi is a locally owned ABA company. Our supervisory team is comprised of practitioners certified…read morethrough the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) with over 20 years of combined experience serving children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Mahalo Punahou School for hosting tonight's ILH cheer competition…read more Congratulations to all the participating schools, cheer squads, and supporters. Excellent win for Iolani taking all 3 divisions in first place: intermediate, JV and varsity. Love the comraderie of the audience sitting side by side with families of competing schools. The coolest thing was while waiting for the tallying of each school's points, the cheerleaders were in good spirits dancing on the floor to the music. So much aloha encompassed the gym. Smiles, hugs, leis of all kinds and roses being handed out to teammates and friends. A wonderful spectacle to witness and enjoy.

Disclaimer: this is a review of the tennis facility. I have played and coached many matches at this…read moreschool and it has a very impressive tennis complex. In the years since I was competing, they renovated the office/viewing area to include an upper deck. There are 6 courts with lights on the lower side and up a steep road there are 3 more courts. There is also a bleacher area to watch some of the matches from. Parking can be tricky and the one-way setup of the lot is difficult. If you pass an area, you have to go all the way out of the campus and back around the hill to get back on property. If you see a spot, even if it's not that close, take it! Weather is also an issue since it's in Manoa so we sometimes have rain delays/cancelled matches. Yesterday we almost had to postpone but luckily the weather held up enough to finish the match!

I came here for a political rally for Kaniela Ing with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez speaking and local…read moreslack key guitar player Tavana playing some songs along with some other artists in support for the candidates. The sign language interpreters were pretty good. The grounds of the school and the facility were pretty standard with some cute murals here and there. The air flow in the auditorium was inadequate which I heard is an ongoing problem in Hawaii schools. Once the sun went down, the trades came in and provided some relief. They had all the fans going but I couldn't imagine being there during the day when the sun is blazing. The room was packed and I did enjoy the speeches and performances. I was especially psyched to meet rising star Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who won against a multi decade incumbent and is from my home town congressional district. Got me a selfie. I heard the school had some scandals. I wasn't around for that, I heard replaced the staff and administration, hopefully that resolves the problem. But the space was fine and the location was good.

Excellent program for Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and hard of hearing children. The school provides language…read moreaccess for all children. My children attends there and they excel in academics.

This is a good school for kids with learning differences. Most of the teachers are accommodating…read moreand they teach quality lessons. The class sizes are very small which average to around 4-10 students per class period. This allows the teacher to provide individualized education to the students. Homework depends on what classes you have. It may be a lot or very little. The campus is unique with a peaceful setting. Though it could use some updating in some areas. The school has very high expectations and some of the expectations are very weird but they have a meaning and a purpose. This school has a very good mission and purpose.

From the owner: Assets School is an independent school for gifted and/or dyslexic children which provides an…read moreindividualized, integrated learning environment. Assets' environment empowers these children to maximize their potential and find their places as lifelong learners in school and society.

We decided to enroll my daughter at MICAA because at 3 years old, she wasn't articulating as many…read morewords as we hoped for. We couldn't really tell if she was just really shy or was delayed in speech. What we liked about MICAA was that they doubled as behavior analysts and as a Kindergarten prep. We knew we wanted to enroll her in private school so it really was a double purpose. The tutors were amazing and so patient with my daughter. I believe she had Kylie, Cari and Alissa (as well as Luke who is no longer with them). They were all very patient and accommodating, helping my daughter blossom. They made sure we were always kept up to date by uploading electronic copies of what was done during class. My husband and I rarely brought her due to work and had grandma bring her, so it was really helpful to see what she was doing even though we weren't there. We opted for 1hr sessions which at first I thought was pretty long for a 3-4 year old but they keep the lessons engaging enough to keep their attention. If you decide to stick around, they have different parking options - paid street parking, paid lot parking and free parking across the street in Whole Foods/Ward. They are located perfectly because there are so many coffee shops, retail stores, parks and Ala Moana Beach within walking distance. The only take away was that Lins Snack Shop was downstairs making it a popular "post class" treat every week. In the end, my daughter got into both Punahou and 'Iolani - they even manifested it for us! Thank you, MICAA!

As someone who has been in education for 20 years I can say that this place is amazing. Our son who…read morehas ADHD was behind in school and after attending tutoring there was able to make great progress. Ms.Alissa and Ms. Carrie are very good at working with children of all ages and abilities. The individualized attention and programming they offer have really helped our son develop confidence and a love of learning. Would highly recommend them!