disabilities

This month, members of Camp Ramah in New England’s Tikvah Program returned to their home communities in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Florida and California. Unlike their neurotypical peers who have year-round opportunities to participate in Jewish life, learning and socialization, our campers with such special needs as autism, cognitive impairments and cerebral palsy will sadly return to isolation and a lack of meaningful Jewish connection. And they will long for their return to camp in 10 months. How can the campers and their beloved counselors stay connected year-round? “Shabbos Is Calling!”

“Shabbos Is Calling” is a Ruderman Family Foundation-funded weekly video conference program for members of the Tikvah community. Each Thursday night, campers and staff members log on and the faces and names of their friends appear, Brady-Bunch style, across the screen. Staff members prepare stories about the weekly Torah portion and upcoming holidays, lead songs and facilitate 30 minutes of weekly “schmoozing” where the campers share their week – birthdays, school plays and sports meets – and what they’re looking forward to that Shabbos.

As Roberta, Sam’s mother, reports, Sam’s camp friends are his only Jewish friends, so “Shabbos is Calling” is the only Jewish activity he does with friends during the year. Sam looks forward to his weekly computer chat with camp friends all year. Or as Betty, mother of Ilyse, writes: It makes summer camp life and not just camp.

“Shabbos Is Calling,” underway in four Ramah camps so far, is a wonderful tool for keeping children and adults with and without special needs connected and engaged year-round.

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

The first annual Jerusalem Marathon later this month will provide spectacular views of 5,000+ years of history for spectators and competitors alike.

All competitors, that is, except for Richard Bernstein, a blind attorney from Detroit, Michigan.

Bernstein, 37, does not allow his lifelong lack of sight to limit his athletic endeavors.

The 42-kilometer race on March 25 will be his 14th marathon – not to mention an Iron Man in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 2008 and the Eilat Israman half-Iron in January.

The civil rights attorney only first got involved with sports after completing law school at Northwestern University.

“When I was growing up, expectations were much lower for people with disabilities,” he said. “The general consensus was that disabled people have no reason to compete or do physical fitness.”

Not being able to compete took a toll on Bernstein’s self-esteem.

“When you are younger, the leaders of the school – the cool kids – were the athletes,” he said.

Bernstein’s athletic pursuits are more than personal; he’s on a mission to change the public understanding of what disabled people can do.

“Playing sports gives legitimacy to blind people,” he said.

Running in Israel has added significance.

Over the course of the many trips Bernstein has taken to Israel, Israelis have always been accommodating and have gone to great lengths to help the blind athlete. Bernstein recounts buses which have strayed from their typical routes to bring him where he needs to go. People have gotten out of cars at red lights to help him cross an intersection.

He attributes the extreme kindness to the fact that “no one is afraid of being touchy-feely [in Israel]. They’d rather tackle me than tell me a car is coming,” he said.

Currently, people with disabilities are not required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, where mandatory service for most citizens is, of course, the norm. Competing in the marathon is one way to advocate for the integration of the military, a significant part of Israeli culture.

In turn, Bernstein hopes to change societal perceptions and promote full integration of people with disabilities into Israeli society.

Aiding him in his mission is Shaked, a pilot in the Israel Air Force whose last name can not be printed for security reasons.

Shaked acts as Bernstein’s set of eyes – “the best guide I’ve ever had” – by giving him directional cues such as “hard right” and “soft left” when running.

“My skills come from seeing things from different perspectives,” Shaked said. “I close my eyes and see what might scare him.”

During the Eilat Israman triathlon, they rode a tandem bike and swam with a rope connecting them at the waist.

Shaked was the perfect partner.

Not only did he plan five steps ahead, accurately grade inclines and declines, and articulate every potential footfall, but he also shared the same ideals of raising disabilities awareness in Israel.

For years, the IAF pilot has been advocating for the inclusion of people with special needs into the army.

Shaked had one young man working for him as a graphic designer of pilots’ checklists; another worked in a unit sweeping the floor and performing odd jobs around the base.

Regardless of the job his recruits with disabilities do, Shaked hopes that his work will affect the mentality of the typical soldiers and eventually promote complete acceptance and integration of people with disabilities into Israeli culture.

Richard Bernstein has lived his own life fully integrated. He is a civil rights attorney, primarily handling cases in support of rights for the disabled, and he also is a professor at the University of Michigan, where he teaches social justice.

Practicing law is yet another opportunity to affect change.

“I believe in what I’m doing so strongly. I know that through the law, I can make a difference,” he said.

He didn’t complete law school without significant hardship, though.

Bernstein convinced Northwestern – which eventually changed its policy – that the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) was discriminatory against the visually impaired.

Without being able to see, Bernstein spent hours memorizing and internalizing material during his years in law school. He prepares similarly for trial by learning case law and all of the arguments by heart.

One of the biggest challenges Bernstein had to overcome was lowered expectations.

“There were so many people who said ‘college isn’t for you; law school isn’t for you.’ But I knew this was the kind of work I desperately wanted to do,” he said.

It took him four to five times longer to learn the material than it took his classmates.

All of the effort was for a greater purpose.

“I promised God that if He gave me the chance to graduate and pass the bar exam, I’d dedicate my life to representing people with special needs and make justice.”

That is exactly what he did. Today, he works exclusively pro bono in the public services division of his father’s law firm, choosing the cases that will have the greatest impact on people who otherwise would have no legal representation.

Participation in over 14 major races is a monumental accomplishment, but for Richard, running also provides for a spiritual relationship with God.

Training for a 42-kilometer race without the ability to see takes a tremendous amount of mental discipline and involves working through pain, hardship and difficulty.

“For me to work through that struggle, I was able to have a genuine connection with a higher being,” he said.

Shaked also feels that his work is a reflection of his Judaism.

“We are making a Kiddush Hashem [sanctification of God’s name] by changing lives,” he said.

Bernstein has spent his entire life trying to open eyes and pave new trails, and he sees this latest endeavor as another landmark event on his bigpicture journey.

“God will give you what you need when you need it most,” he said.

“The Jerusalem marathon is going to be just another struggle I will overcome.”

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Aaron Rudolph’s drive to work from his home in West Hartford to the Walgreen’s Distribution Center in Windsor is usually uneventful. Having special needs and landing a meaningful job often poses more of a challenge.

Rudolph is one of the lucky ones. A story in the Hartford Courant five years ago about a yet-to-be-built Walgreens facility, a meeting with a job counselor at the Bureau of Rehab Services in Hartford, and a drop of good fortune were all part of the young man’s journey toward meaningful employment.

After graduating from high school, Rudolph began a one-year food service training program at Manchester Community College. He was then connected to a job counselor, which led to some work in food services. A job counselor was impressed with his work and suggested that Rudolph might be a good candidate for the Walgreen’s program. Following an interview to assess his job and social skills, and a nine-week, eight-hour a day unpaid training program in different areas of potential employment, followed by nine-week training stints, Rudolph was ultimately hired by Walgreens.

The 24-year old West Hartford resident, who loves the Beatles, Beach Boys and You Tube, has been to Israel four times, and regularly attends The Emanuel Synagogue, recently celebrated his nine-month anniversary as a Walgreens’ employee. While initially hired to work in the AKL division (where he essentially moved quickly up and down the aisles filling orders), he was soon switched to “detrash,” where he rapidly opens boxes and transfers items to plastic bins and places them on a conveyer belt.

Rudolph works 40 hours per week, and has full benefits – like sick time, medical, dental, a 401K and stock options, and soon he will be eligible for two weeks paid vacation.

“When you think of people with cognitive disabilities, they are usually involved in menial jobs or they work in workshops-they often bag groceries or work a few hours a week. And you always worry about how secure the job is-especially during an economic downturn. At Walgreen’s, Aaron has the potential to be there a long time,” reports the young man’s mother, Alison Rudolph, who explains that her son has mild to high functioning autism.

Her son, she says, couldn’t be more proud of his work noting that he “always speaks up and enunciates” when asked about his work” and “never complains when he is asked to do mandatory overtime.”

Rudoph is, perhaps, a bit more candid in describing his work. “It is nice, but it has its tough moments!” he says. “Sometimes the boxes I open are pretty hard. When I open the plastic wrapping, sometimes it goes all over the floor-especially with the huge fan going!”

But he does enjoy the camaraderie of his fellow workers. “I get along with them, I have lunch with them, and we sometimes talk about our weekends,” he says. “I feel great working full time and I feel good about the job!”

“Aaron is a great employee,” Joe Wendover, Walgreens’ outreach manager at the Windsor Distribution Center, told the Ledger. “Hiring Aaron helps to show other employers that it is a good thing and the right thing to do.”

Walgreens invites other companies to tour their distribution center to see that it is truly possible to train and hire people with disabilities. “It is unfortunate that some employers can’t see past a disability,” says Wendover, who will participate in a panel on vocational training and employment at Advance: The Ruderman Jewish Special Needs Funders Conference to be held in New York City on Oct. 20 to discuss funding for special needs programs in the Jewish community (see story).

Alison Rudoph and her husband, Jeff, are impressed with Walgreens’ commitment to hiring people with disabilities.

“In the warehouse, there are people with many kinds of disabilities. I have seen people in wheelchairs, people who are hearing impaired, and many others. As long as you can do the job, you will be employed there. They feel very fortunate that Aaron is part of the Walgreens family. “

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I was pleased to learn that the theme for a sophomore class Shabbaton at a Modern Orthodox High School is “Stand By Me–A Thought and Heart-Provoking Exploration of REALationships.

A very thoughtful, young woman shared her take on this topic. While she and five of her classmates, who were also asked to speak on the topic, were initially unclear on what, exactly, a REALationship is, this mature sixteen year old began to understand that it is a special, perhaps unexpected, relationship that she had been part of.

She shared her talk with me since I am the director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England. Our overnight program for campers with developmental disabilities celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. We are very proud to be pioneers and leaders in the field of Jewish camping, and in the inclusion of campers with special needs in the camp community. Our Tikvah campers, and the members of our Tochnit Avodah (vocational training program) have always been full members of the camp community, but they have lived in their own bunks.

Seven years ago, we decided to grow with the times and push the envelope We created an INCLUSION PROGRAM for campers too young for our Tikvah Program, for campers with more mild impairments, and for those whose parents preferred a more inclusive approach.

The young woman writes, A child with special needs was put in a bunk of campers like you and me. Children with Down Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other developmental disabilities joined typical bunks and spent their summer partaking in the same activities as other campers.

Three summers ago, R, a camper with Downs Syndrome, joined my bunk. At first, my group of friends and I hated it. We had extra responsibilities now. We had to help R. put on her pajamas, get into her bathing suit, brush her teeth, and pour herself water. These burdens were annoying. Why did we want to waste our time helping someone who probably didn’t even realize we were helping her? R was always stubborn and seemed to need our help for every single thing. It appeared that everyone was having a miserable summer, simply because she was in our bunk.

While these extra responsibilities were annoying and slowed us down, by the end of the summer, each camper in my bunk had formed a special REALationship with R. We began to enjoy playing sports with her, seeing her accomplishments, such as climbing to the top of the rock climbing wall, as well as surprising her with a party on her birthday. This entire experience showed us that it is not easy to go out of your way to help someone, yet once you do, the result can be something you never expected that it would be.

Over the year, my bunkmates and I continued to reach out to R. Many of us invited her to our Bat-Mitzvahs, we wrote her letters through snail mail, and we even planned conference calls with each other before Shabbat, so we could all sing the pre-Shabbat songs, just like we do at camp.

The following summer, many of my friends and I signed up for a special buddy program, where we got paired up with a special needs camper, who we did various activities with, like playing sports with during our free time. This past summer, we all signed up again, and were assigned to new buddies, who we swam with and built sand castles with during their swimming period. Since I have been on a swim team for many years, I did not expect any of the kids to be as good as me. Surprisingly, I raced one camper and was shocked when he almost beat me!

One can form a special REALationship with anyone. In my case, my friends and I were able to form REALationships with particular campers, simply by holding their hand and running with them to first base while playing kickball, helping to glue newspaper onto a paper mache balloon that would become a globe, writing a letter to their parents to tell them about their field trip, or singing and dancing with them in the dining hall after dinner. This summer, I am looking forward to being a CIT and strengthening my REALationships with some of the same campers I worked with in past years.

By partaking in these special REALationships, one can learn that when someone has a disability, that means they also have an ability. Over the years at camp, I have learned that children with disabilities really do have the abilities to express themselves and enjoy the camp experience. Even if you do not keep in touch with these campers, you can still have a REALationship, because you have made a difference in their lives.

My Shul has held a Yachad Shabbaton one Shabbat for the past few years. I have noticed that the Yachad members are not the only ones who enjoy these experiences. The members of my Shul also look forward to this weekend, and everyone takes something away from the experience. I hope that in camps and Shuls around us, we can take advantage of opportunities like the ones I have had, like at the Yachad Shabbaton coming up in a few weeks.

The program certainly has its challenges, but the benefits to the typically developing campers, the campers with special needs, and to the entire camp community, are amazing.

We hope our attempts at inclusion at Camp Ramah in New England (and throughout the Ramah Camping Movement) will inspire others in the Jewish World to follow our lead and in turn, inspire others. Please share your inclusion successes and challenges so we can all help each other!

This article on inclusion in the Jewish world deals with special needs in the Jewish community.

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