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

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.

Very informative and calming tea ceremony you can participate in to learn and appreciate Japanese…read moreculture. Highly recommend! No charge, but we did offer a donation. There is no pressure to donate.

If you have any interest in Japanese culture - not the anime, but the actual ancient cultural…read moreheritage - you will want to make the Urasenke Foundation one of your "Must See" places in Honolulu. Twice a week, in the mornings, the Urasenke Foundation offers free performances of classical Japanese tea ceremonies. It is the short form, of course, because the full ceremony requires several hours, but it is still fascinating and highly educational. We made a reservation for 10:00 Friday, and the other family that was supposed to show up never did, so we had a private performance. You start by watching an English-language video that tells you about tea ceremonies in general, so you have some idea of what is happening when you move into the Japanese rooms for the ceremony itself. They use tatami floors, so you must remove your shoes outside, and they ask you to wear socks when you are in the room to protect the floors. There is a demonstration of what was shown in the video, conducted in Japanese; there is another facility member there with you to explain what is going on. After the ceremony ends, you are given the opportunity to try the tea and sweets yourself - be warned, it's very strong matcha tea! They'll understand if you don't finish it. There is no gift shop or anything, but you can make a donation to the foundation. Once the ceremony is over, you leave - no closing video or anything. It's absolutely amazing that you can see this in America; there are only a few outposts of the Urasenke Foundation (a famous Japanese tea ceremony school) in the United States.

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!

ohana ola is the worst shelter I know they kick you out with children they don't even help you look…read morefor other shelter they only pick and choose who they like help and who not to help they try make you go work knowing you can't work due to mental health they are the bad shelter to go to I wouldn't stay here in dis shelter no good dis place don't move in here maintenance workers walks into your unit when not home they don't tell you they came in bad place to come