>first of all , someone asked about gettign a child into a kitat
>tikshoret, but teh person who recommended it was not clear WHY she
>felt he needs a kitat tikshoret, so :
>
>LET'S TAKE A STEP BACK: why place a child in a kitat tikshoret?
> the goal of a kitat tikshoret is: a classroom in which children
> are taught (besides most of teh mainstream curriculum) in a
> cognitive , step-by-step manner, HOW TO COMMUNICATE. they teach
> such skills as:
>- when a friend is busy, go to another frieNd to ask to play
>- look at people when you want to talk to them.
>- call people by name so they look at you before you begin to talk to them
>- how to understand instructions (written and verbal) and how to
>notice that you need to ask for help
>and , in higher grades:
>- when you go to the bus stop and discover you do not have money for
>the bus, here are things you can do
>- how to know when you are talking for too long and losing your
>friends' interest
>
>so, ask yourself:
>does your son need to learn those skills?
>does he need to go through a "script" of what is going to happen
>before any major changes in routine , so that he knows what to
>expect and how he is expected to behave?
>
>and if he does, does he need these interventions so badly that he
>needs to be in a special class (as in, is he failing at school or
>completely miserable as a result of these deficits), or can he go to
>a klinait tikshoret or cognitive-behavioural therapist
>(psychologist, usually) and /or a social skills group once or twice
>a week and learn? (with you guys getting instructions and
>supplementing at home , of course) these types of skills are not
>just for kids with Autism and such. many children need to be taught
>social skills explicitly. there are some great books written for
>parents to read with kids. i will send a list soon (and anyoen who
>can bring them for me from golus would be doign agreat mitzva!).
> also, the ministry of education has a thing called "sheot
> shiluv", aka matia, which gives some mainstream students an hour a
> week of professinal help in school, if teh school has enough hours
> to help each chil who needs help
>(here i must add that many children who are unhappy go to soem form
>of expressive therpay. expressive therapy is really fun and a
>great help for people who have undergone trauma / don't live in a
>supportive environment / need an outlet - but accordign to what i
>am readign abotu HFA- Asperger's , it has totally not proven itself
>as a tool for teaching children or adults how to behave or get along
>in the world. children (and adults) who are in emotional pain may
>need expressive therapy, but it is not a replacement for life-skills
>instruction.
>



> now, back to the original question:

DOES YOUR CHILD NEED SPECIAL ED (note on Kinayn Hochma at the end) :

>clarify why you / therpaists want teh child moved out of the school
>he currently attends, ON PAPER. what do you / she want him to
>achieve that he is not currently achieving? and then, if you are
>convinced that he really could benefit from a special education
>setting, the people who can tell you the procedure best are the folk
>in your city's agaf hinuch.
>but, i will repeat the steps:
>1- define what your son needs from school that he is not currently
>receiving - on paper, written up together with the proefssionals treating him
>2- the professionals treating him should be able to write a summary
>letter of what they feel he is "deficient" in , which you would then
>take to the person doing the eval
>3- a professional eval. you can go through shefi, i am just saying
>that my experience has been that that involves a long long wait, and
>when a child really needs special ed, long waits are not good.
>(- if the child is assessed to have a baayat tikshoret, a
>psychiatrist must confirm the diagnosis. you can use a neurologist
>if the issue is ASD, as opposed to emotional challenges (Autism
>Spectrum Disorders, includes aspergers and PDD)
>- again, this is only if the child is assessed with ASD , you apply
>to bituah leumi for a kitsba. the money is useful, and you need the
>ishur to get other services)
>4- you take all yoru evaluations and teachers' reports to the local
>agaf hinuch and request a veadat hasama, at which they will decide
>whether he is eligible for special serivces, and if so, what.
>
AND, AFTER ALL THIS, WHY CONSIDER KINYAN HOCHMA INSTEAD OF GOVERNMENT
FUNDED SPECIAL ED?:

if your child needs help in the classroom and / or at recess, more
than a bit of extra review at home, BUT does not require the more
therapeutic environment of a special education class (2 staff members
at all times, very highly structured) highly or does not fit into
the special ed class available for his grade because the options
available for him are to low-level (academically or torani) , then we
offer something different.

more details upon request, this was not meant as an ad


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