Parent Research Project  

Nitzan Press Release

The Israeli Association for Children & Adults with Learning Disabilities

The Need: Effective support for parents of children with learning disabilities is of crucial importance to the success of these children and also to the well-being of the parents themselves. It equips parents to deal with stress and decision-making and also empowers them to engage in parental advocacy, a pivotal factor in success for children with learning disabilities. The effectiveness of parental support programs depends on accurate assessment of parental needs. Such assessment is both culture-dependent (requiring analysis of parents in Israeli society, as opposed to other cultures) and situation-dependent (requiring assessment of Israeli parents of children with learning disabilities, as opposed to other disabilities). Failure to take into account culture and nature of disability when designing parental support programs is likely to lead to ineffective support and, consequently, also to ineffective parental advocacy. Indeed, programs without a basis in culture-specific research result in damage to parents and children.

Nitzan Responds: Nitzan is now conducting, for the first time in Israel, extensive, nation-wide research into the needs of Israeli parents of children with learning disabilities. This research will provide the base necessary to assure that Nitzan provides Israeli parents with effective programs that provide effective parental support. This research program proposes to evaluate the specific needs of Israeli parents of children with learning disabilities. It will address the factors research has shown to be most important to parental support and advocacy, namely, resilience, hope, and knowledge of legal rights. The results will deepen our knowledge of how to design professional support programs for Israeli parents of children with learning disabilities.

Building a Better Future: The existing support programs for parents of children with learning disabilities in Israel are sporadic. They are not based on Israeli research. Consequently, they do not meet the specific needs of these parents. Indeed, no research of the nature described herein has yet been conducted in Israel – that is, to identify the specific, unique, and comprehensive needs of Israeli parents of children with learning disabilities.

The Researchers: Nitzan’s ambitious and important research project is undertaken in conjunction with the Israeli Ministry of Absorption in Science and supervised by three of Israel’s leading learning disabilities experts:

• Yitzhak Ersoff:  formerly professor and attorney in the US; taught in the schools of education at Oregon State University and Eastern Oregon University School of Education, and also at Willamette University College of Law; recognized authority on disability education, law, policy, and advocacy.

• Maly Danino: executive director of Nitzan, the Israeli Association for Children & Adults with Learning Disabilities; established the Learning Disabilities Unit of Psychological Services of the Israeli Ministry of Education.

• Malka Margalit:  Constantiner School of Education, Tel-Aviv University; internationally recognized expert on learning disabilities; has served as Chairperson of the Israeli Council of Psychologists, director of the Sneurson Psycho- Educational Center, and representative of the Israeli Psychologists’ organizations at the National Health Committee.

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