Centers for Intervention
In the ultra-orthodox world, a child’s need for developmental assistance can sometimes go unanswered for fear of stigmatizing the family. It is in this area that the Achiya Child Development Centers – located in Bnei Brak and Elad – are formenting a quiet, rabbinically approved revolution.
The Achiya Developmental Centers provide all services in an environment that adheres to Jewish Law, including a modest dress code and careful screening of all therapy paraphernalia for appropriate content, thus gaining parents’ trust and confidence.
Providing targeted therapies for children from infancy to adolescence, Achiya’s Child Development Centers are staffed by some 50 highly experienced speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as music therapists and social workers who are trained to treat emotional difficulties. The Centers provide children with the comprehensive support they need to overcome developmental issues, in a discreet and modest atmosphere.
A professional Director supervises activities in each one of the Developmental Centers’ therapeutic departments. The Director is kept informed about the progress of all children who are undergoing treatment in their field, and holds regular meetings with the therapeutic team members. Directors confer with each other about children treated in two fields of therapy or more.
Supervised by the Ministry of Heath, and working in cooperation with all Israeli HMOs, the Achiya Developmental Centers provide services to children from every sector of Israeli society, without discrimination. However, it is within the ultra-orthodox community where Achiya’s contribution is truly unique.
Achiya has found the winning balance between progressive, professional practice and respect for tradition. This is borne out by the numbers: some 1800 individual treatments are given at the Developmental Centers each month and more than 1,600 children are treated at the Centers each year. Therapies can be long – or short term depending on the issues involved, but each treatment brings a child one-step closer to succeeding in school, and in life.
Imagine sitting in a classroom day after day, and not being able to read the textbooks, decipher what’s being written on the blackboard, or follow the discussion about a page of Gemara. In many cases, children of average and even above-average intelligence, who study in regular classrooms, are left behind because of an undiagnosed reading disorder.
Achiya’s Learning Centers are dedicating to providing every child with the individualized skills they need to succeed in the classroom. At Achiya, children are introduced to corrective reading techniques that help them overcome their challenges, and claim the joy of learning for their own.
With a staff of 20 professionals in Bnei-Brak, the Learning Centers offer individual treatment in three distinct tracks, each headed by a didactic diagnostician and an educational counselor.
The Remedial Teaching Division offers programs for children struggling with slight-to-severe disabilities related to language, written expression, reading comprehension and arithmetic. The Division is staffed by certified special-ed instructors.
Read Yossi’s and Akiva’s stories
The Reading Division offers a unique program, specially adapted for children being educated in ultra-orthodox “cheder” settings, who are experiencing difficulty with reading acquisition.
Read David’s story
The Gemara Studies Division answers a vital need in orthodox society by providing a systematic program aimed at bringing struggling students to the point of independent Gemara study. The program shows students how to organize complex materials and focus on pivotal points, while encouraging development of the learning strategies and flexible thinking that are at the heart of successful and enjoyable learning.
Read Yochai’s story
By identifying and helping young people who are experiencing difficulty in the study of Gemara – something that, for boys, is a fundamental requirement of Orthodox Jewish life – Achiya is working pro-actively to prevent both emotional stress, and the “drop out” phenomenon. By helping boys acquire the reading, comprehension and analytic skills they need to grapple with this specialized structure and language, the Gemara Studies Division is helping to ensure that every child will find his place within the yeshiva world.
