“Every day at 12:30 pm I freeze...
It doesn’t matter whether I am in an important negotiation, if I am with a client, or if I am alone. I freeze because I know that it is recess at my son’s school. I wonder if he is sitting alone on a bench, feeling miserable. I worry that kids may be teasing or bullying him. I dream that he has perhaps found someone who will play with him, accept him for who he is, and see in him what I love so much about him. This is what I do, every single day.”*
Ask any parent if they feel it is important that their child is valued, respected and accepted by their community. The answer will be the same. Every parent wants their child included - whether they are typically developing, have a visible disability, or an invisible disability such Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, a language-based disability, anxiety, or an emotional disability.
That’s because human beings are biologically programmed to be motivated to be accepted and respected within a group. That goes for all human beings, no matter what.
When a child is not accepted, or feels isolated or excluded from their group, the consequences can be dire. The child suffers the deepest level of emotional pain. So do the parents, siblings and often the entire family.
A community that teaches its children to be empathetic, caring, and accepting of diversity, is a community that has the power to change the world, one child at a time.Sulam is the only inclusion program in a Jewish day school in the Greater Washington area.
Our students are thriving, successful and integrated with their host school. They are valued, respected and included by their typically developing peers.
We have shown that it is possible!
Please help us make our community even stronger. Together we will ensure that every parent’s dream for inclusion is a reality.
Warmly,
Lianne Heller
Director
* Excerpt from a new parent admissions interview