As I go through life…
by Jess Eichholz When I joined the TAP program I didn’t know what to expect. The minute I walked into the first meeting I realized how amazing this program was. For that, I am proud to be a TAP teen. I am proud to be a TAP teen because of the friends I made while I was there. I am also glad to be a TAP teen because of the things that I learned. I am very proud to be a TAP teen because of the friends that I made there. The program was fun, but when you make new [...]
Striving for Inclusion
by Rabbi Eric Yanoff To kick off Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month this year, at Adath Israel, we hosted a Lunch n’ Learn on Shabbat, at which someone asked a challenging question: “Where have we fallen short? Where are we deficient?” It was an important question – but I chose to answer in the opposite, more hopeful, direction: Where should we be striving? I’ve been thinking about this idea, of STRIVING. The act of striving – seeking something more – that, itself, the IDEAL we need to seek. Sometimes, we assume there is some “final, concrete” ideal out there [...]
Create a Sensory Box For Your Classroom/Program/Sanctuary
by Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, Director, Whole Community Inclusion This past summer, we piloted a new tool to make our jkidphilly summer music series more inclusive--a sensory box. We know that for some children with noise sensitivity, attending any music concert--even an outdoor, acoustic one--could feel too loud and uncomfortable. We also know that some kids can pay attention and regulate emotions and activity better while holding tactile materials. So voila--we ordered some noise-cancelling headphones and various quiet fidgets and took our sensory box to each of our summer concerts. The box was introduced at the beginning of each program and children [...]