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NEWS
Ta'atzumot Opens English-Speaking Program for Parents of Special-Needs Children
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
All of us are familiar with young couples from the US, Europe and elsewhere who come to Eretz Yisroel right after the wedding to live for a few years. Some of them linger for another year, and another, and suddenly a young avreich who left his family and various amenities to grow in ruchniyus has sprouted into a talmid chochom and a marbitz Torah, raising an exemplary Jewish family.
But what happens when that young couple gives birth to a child with abnormalities, delayed development or an attention deficit? Where can they turn to for warm, practical support? Who will help them through the diagnosis stage? Who will explain the findings and guide them in choosing among the treatment options presented to them? Where will they derive the strength, the knowledge and the ability to deal with Bituach Leumi on their own, especially if their spoken Hebrew is weak?
Sometimes these obstacles can overwhelm a young couple until, heavy-hearted, they are forced to the leave the kollel and go back home to Melbourne, Golders Green, Brooklyn, Monsey, Toronto, Los Angeles or wherever they hail from.
Mrs. Katzenelenbogen and Mrs. Shmuelevitz, the directors of Ta'atzumot, a family center for children with special needs, noted the dire need and opened a department specializing in services for English speakers.
Services include treatment, counselling and guidance for individuals, couples or families and support groups for parents and siblings. Art therapy is conducted for parents together with their child, with an emphasis on improving communication between them. The center also provides psychological, didactic, psycho-didactic and speech/communication testing for the child encountering difficulties, in addition to information and guidance regarding the child's specific challenges.
The center also run a volunteer program called Mothers for Mothers, matching mothers who have dealt with their child's special needs for years with mothers inexperienced in dealing with such needs.
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