PDD diagnosis and aliyah

amother

Sat, Sep 06 2014, 2:32 pm

We made aliyah 8 months ago and my 6 yr old was just diagnosed w PDD, which is a form of high functioning autistic spectrum disorder. I am very concerned how the high functioning kids do long term. From the research I've done so far and the responses I've been getting from people, it seems most are unfamiliar w kids who are high functioning and bundles all ASD kids together in tikshoret classes. Also it seems once he enters a tikshoret class, he can't be accepted into a "regular" yeshiva down the road? Am I missing something here? Advice, help welcome!!

amother

Sat, Sep 06 2014, 7:32 pm

I've seen high functioning kids do very well with time. Some yeshivot are more accepting, others just don't want the work, or worse, treat the child in a way that actually makes them worse.

Just don't give up, when autism is mild and high functioning it is possible for the symptoms to get better with time, as the child matures. I've seen it myself, one person I know was very high functioning and as an adult no one would ever have guessed that he was diagnosed with autism. Another child I know is what people would call"quirky", but actually has high functioning autism.

The environment is fundamental , so make sure it is the right place.

amother

Sat, Sep 06 2014, 9:54 pm

amother wrote:

My DS is 16 and just started 11th grade. He is in a regular class in his HS. He was diagnosed at age 3 with PDD and later on with Asperger's type disorder (though he never got a definitive diagnosis of Asperger's). He is also very high functioning . He was in a gan tikshoret and then in a kitat tikshoret through 6th grade. In 7th grade, when he started chativa, we decided to pull him out of the class because we felt he was no longer benefiting and he resented being perceived as 'different'. Since then he has been functioning in a regular class and is doing beautifully. There was no difficulty transferring him out of the class. We had to have a 'va'adat hasama' but it was only a formality in his case since the 'system' did not object to us taking him out.
BTW he has lost most of his ASD symptoms. Though some issues still remain he is not superficially at least discernibly different from his peers in the regular class. Interestingly, his best friends remain the kids who were in the kitat tikshoret with him through grade 6 (they are for the most part integrated into his regular class for most of the day). We are very grateful that he has such good friends and are happy that the kitat tikshoret provided him with the framework that he needed then to form such friendships.
DS is not in a yeshiva HS. He did not want to study gemara all day so he is in a regular tichon torani in our yishuv. However, there are plenty of yeshivot that would have taken him had he expressed interest (he has wonderful grades b"h). Another kid from his kitat tikshoret, who had stayed in the kita through 8th grade, got accepted to the local yeshiva HS (he is now also in 11th grade) and is reportedly doing great there. Yet another friend from a different yishuv who was in the kitat tikshoret with DS for a number of years before he was mainstreamed in a different school is now studying in a prestigious yeshiva in Jerusalem.
So yes, it is possible. Give your child what he needs now and worry about yeshiva later. Chances are good that it won't be an insurmountable problem to get into yeshiva when the time come, especially if he is a good student.l

amother

Sat, Sep 06 2014, 10:06 pm

Thank you guys for all the positive responses!! It's important for me to hear that and stay positive!! Right now, where we are they don't have a kita tikshoret for first grade and they are offering me kita mikademet or to send him to Jerusalem... I'm not sure that kita mekademet will be appropriate for him. I called the special Ed coordinator at Moetza a few times and she said that's all they have this year. I'm very concerned about putting him into wrong environment..
Thank you again for making me feel better about down the road things. What special therapies have made the biggest differences for your kids at this stage?
Have your kids been bullied at recess?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 2:26 am

I know several people who have moved to Israel specifically so that their PPD/Autistic kids could get better services than they could in the US. All of them are very satisfied with how their children are progressing.

Of course, every child and every school is different. I would want to meet with the admin and rebbes, maybe talk to other parents if possible, and to stay involved a lot, especially in the first couple of years.

We are planning on making Aliyah as soon as we can get the paperwork through. My DD has partial mutation Fragile X Syndrome, and is high functioning. She's 11 now and is mostly mainstreamed. When we were on our pilot trip I had no problem finding a school for her right away, in a warm environment that would give her extra help where she needs it.