I know, I know… It’s no longer politically correct to use the term ‘discipline’ when relating to individuals with special needs. Truthfully, the previous informative essays and articles in this feature, leading up to mine, all reaffirm that – our children with special needs will act out inappropriately when they are misunderstood and when they cannot communicate their needs, proving that mis-communication, rather than misbehavior is the source of challenge.

1. Can you explain the differences in approaches and expectations when disciplining individuals with Down syndrome, versus typical individuals?
We should have the same demands and expectations of our children with special needs as of our other children, only the approach should be different than with our typical children.

I was just a small first grader when my sister was born. I was proud of my new uniform with its freshly pressed shirt and sharply pleated jumper. A few months of school didn’t take away that feeling as I walked through the halls of Bais Chana each day. No less was my feeling of pride when I heard that my mother had a baby. I was the big sister! Not only was I a big first grader who could help a lot, I was also the baby’s only sister among my siblings – all boys.

If one day could encapsulate the highs and lows of raising a child with Down syndrome, the day our son, Yehuda, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah would be that day.
My wife and I thought it would be a good challenge for Yehuda to not only have an aliyah and recite the blessings over the Torah, but to actually read from the Torah, like most of the “regular” boys do to celebrate their Bar Mitzvah.

Today is Election Day. The results aren’t in yet. Like most Americans, I wasn’t crazy about the choice of candidates and pretty much voted against one, rather than for the other.
In addition, I would like to break the law and vote a second time; I want to vote somebody down. There’s just one problem; I don’t know who that person is.

If you’re a parent of a child with Down syndrome in search of the right pair of eyeglasses for your child (him/her), you probably know that walking into an optical store can be confusing. There is no shortage of children’s eyeglass frames. The problem is: how do you figure out which ones: a) your child will be willing to wear; and b) will last longer than the ride home?

It can sometimes turn really murky to try to figure out what is normal and what isn’t, who is normal and who isn’t.
Just a few months ago, Yeshiva Bonim Lamokom celebrated its annual Shabbaton. This is the highlight (among many others ☺ ) of the yeshiva year, as students, rabbeim, teachers, therapists, office staff and faculty’s families pack their bags and head upstate for a glorious weekend of non-stop fun and inspiration.

Although doctors have long known that people with Down syndrome have a heightened risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during childhood, they haven’t been able to explain why. Now, a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators has uncovered a connection between the two conditions.

I wear 2 hats.
I change them daily, sometimes multiple times a day.
Some parts of the day I am an Adjunct Professor at a local educational institution where I teach a course about disabilities.
Part of my curriculum is to underscore the importance of Inclusion, part of the laws of I.D.E.A.
“Disabled children should be educated with other non-disabled children to the maximum extent possible.”

The stars are shining
The sky is clear
I watch
Her hands