As a parent of a child with a neurological disorder, how can I best help my child?

My best suggestion to help your child with a learning difference or neurological disorder is to develop a strong working relationship with your physician to advocate for your child. Work with your physician to find the “best educational fit” for your child. Learn about all the different educational opportunities in our community. Learn the strengths of each school and match them to your child. Work with your pediatrician to monitor your child’s developmental milestones very closely. If there are any signs of an early delay in development, then I recommend intervention as early as possible. Work with your pediatric neurologist, if you have one. For medications, use as low a dose of medication as possible to optimize your child’s progress in the classroom.

As a board-certified pediatrician with special certification in pediatric neurology, I believe that I bring a unique perspective on helping parents of children with neurologic problems with compassion. My philosophy has been and continues to be that “I care for every child, no matter how weak or frail, like my own.” I am a kama’āina, born and raised in Kane‘ohe, who proudly continues to retain my local roots. I deeply care about local kids by carrying on the family tradition, started by my father, Dr. Henry Yim, Kane‘ohe’s first pediatrician and founder of Windward Pediatrics. We care for the Windward community’s families as well as kids from town. As a proud “local boy” who returned home board-certified in Pediatrics with special certification in Pediatric Neurology to practice, I am honored to be voted by my peers as one of Honolulu’s Top Doctors.

At Windward Pediatrics, I have taken care of local kids there for 25 years in the morning hours. The afternoons take me to Kapi‛olani Medical Center where my specialty in Pediatric Neurology serves children with brain and spine disorders. I also wear “two more hats” to serve our community to benefit all children. A member of the Punahou Board of Trustees for four years, I am committed to academic excellence by enhancing the social and emotional well-being of some of the island’s high achieving students. As chairman of the board for Variety School for more than a decade, I use my expertise to support the school’s focus on children with various learning differences, such as autism. I develop individualized learning plans to help each child reach his or her own potential.

A graduate of Punahou School, I earned an Ivy League education at Dartmouth College and my medical doctorate from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Following my pediatric training at Kapi‛olani Medical Center, I returned for my pediatric neurology fellowship at Columbia University Neurological Institute in New York. I was invited to serve on the Neurology National Board of Examiners, and have worked for more than10 years to determine the standard of care guidelines in pediatric neurology.

With the many “hats” I wear to serve our community, I have gained first-hand experience that has made me empathetic and has increased my compassion for children with neurologic disorders as well as their parents. Returning to Hawai‘i Nei in 1993 to care for our keiki, I speak from experience to encourage our young local talent to avoid “the brain drain” by coming home with their newly acquired education and expertise to help make our Hawaii a better place to live.