Aron, who was 7, had trouble communicating and started getting violent at home and school, trying to hit his mother and teachers. Callahan took him to a psychiatrist, where he was diagnosed with a range of conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and developmental disabilities.
Desperate, his parents sought help from the state. But when Aron finally found adequate care nearly a decade later, it was not in Hawaii but more than 3,000 miles away, at a specialized facility in Kansas.
It's a story that has repeated itself hundreds of times over the past two decades in Hawaii, where outreach workers and health care providers say many children and teens struggle to find proper mental health care.
Often, the state Health Department ends up sending severely mentally ill children and teens to the mainland for treatment, away from the support of friends and family.
