The "Nitzanei Mehut" Preparatory School is the Product of Cooperation Between:

• The Mehut Center for empowering and supporting students with learning disabilities, which acts at Kibbutzim College of Education
• Nitzan - The leading professional body in Israel in the field of learning disabilities for more than 40 years
• The Gendir Fund - monetary support of the fund

Academic Advisor: Professor Tzipora Shechtman, Haifa University

Preparatory School Director: Dr. Na'ami Warmbrand

Professional Coordinator: Dr. Ophira Tikuchinski

Organizational Coordinator: Adi Gafni

Academic Faculty: Lecturers from the best in their fields that combine professional knowledge with an approach of individual instruction.

Graduates with Learning Disabilities in Institutions of Higher Education

Over the past few decades, we are hearing the voice of more and more young adults with learning disabilities that are requesting to fulfill their potential and to use their talents for the benefit of society. Even though most of these young adults report memories of difficulties and pains from the time they learned in school, (Reiff, 1997), a portion of them nonetheless choose to return to the classroom and try again. "The only profession I want in my life requires me to learn in university" (Einat, pg. 35). "It's terribly important for me, like, the intellectual satisfaction, the knowledge fascinates me (pg. 67).

From experience that is accumulating in the western world in recent years, it becomes clear that the dream of higher education for people with learning disabilities is not a utopia but a real possibility. However, in order to take advantage of it, one must be effective in maintaining continual, fair, and attentive dialogue between the student on the one hand and possible decisions of the system on the other hand.

The subject of "learning disabilities" came into public awareness in Israel in the 1960's. In 1964, Nitzan was established by a group of parents of children with learning disabilities. Nitzan set for itself a goal "to strengthen the public awareness in general, and the awareness of teachers, doctors, medical staff, and parents specifically, to the problem of learning disabilities and to obtaining ways and methods to improving their situation (taken from the Nitzan Constitution). Throughout the years, Nitzan was the only body for training teachers to assess and treat learning disabilities, and similarly developed tools for didactic evaluations that serve professionals in Israel.

Another huge step occurred with the approval of the Special Education Act in 1988 and the Mainstreaming Act that was thereafter. The change in societal approach to people with learning disabilities is seen also in the Equal Rights for the Handicapped Law that was passed in 1998. The law establishes the right of people with handicaps for equality, and not just kindness, in all areas of life. With the power of this law, in August 2000, an equality governorship for people with handicaps was set up to make sure the law was carried out. The yearly report of the State Comptroller in 2001 dealt in breadth with the integration of people with handicaps in society and work, and included in it also reference to people with learning disabilities. Some two years ago, a law for the rights of students with learning disabilities in the regular education system was approved on its first reading in the Israeli Knesset (the Israeli law-making body). Despite that the process of final approval of the law has yet to be completed, the Ministry of Education and Culture has already adopted the guiding principles of the law, and these principles guide it in designing an approach to dealing with students with learning disabilities in the regular education system. For this purpose, a unit, which has since become a branch for dealing with students with learning disabilities in the regular education system, was created five years ago within the Ministry of Education. Similar trends are occurring in the American society, in which three laws (ADA, IDEA, and Amendment 504 to the Rehabilitation Act) give strength and commitment towards people with learning disabilities in every stage of their lives - in mandatory education in schools, in higher education, and in employment, in both community and private institutions as one. Similar laws are present in other countries like Britain and Denmark. In Israel, the students have no substantial legal assistance. Nevertheless, there are encouraging signs for extensive compensations in institutions for higher education in the last decade with the establishment of the non-profit organization Leshem. Established in 1993, Leshem is a non-profit organization that is intended to advance the concerns of students with learning disabilities in higher education institutions. With the assistance and enthusiastic encouragement of Leshem, there have been established up until now some 40 support centers in different institutions for higher education in Israel. Together with this, the percent of students with learning disabilities that are accepted and finish their higher education studies is consistently rising.  

Also the Kibbutzim College of Education joined the cause two years ago when they established a special center for students with learning disabilities learning a bachelor's degree in teaching at the college. The center is called "Mehut" (Merkaz Hu'atzama v'T'micha - Empowerment and Support Center). Currently it assists some 165 students with different types of learning disabilities to reach their dreams. The center was set up and is directed by Dr. Naami Warmbrand. During the two years of activity at the center, Dr. Warmbrand has developed a unique model for work with students based on the principle that students must take responsibility for their lives and act in order to reach equal rights despite their handicap together with a strong desire to maximize the use of their personal potential. The main activity in the center is done by the students from the college (students with learning disabilities and other students without disabilities like thes), who serve as tutors for developing the individual learning skills of each student according to the characteristics of their learning disability. For this purpose, the student tutors receive training by the academic faculty of the center to accompany their fellow students in academic courses and in individual and group counseling. In addition to the role of tutoring, the students accept upon themselves leadership roles at the center. They develop new areas of knowledge, initiate projects and conferences and advance a wide variety of fields of interest. That's how it happens that the center belongs entirely to students and is directed by them with a look ahead.

The Center Director and the students are invited to appear at many conferences in which they present the principles of the center, their ideological approach and theories. The students themselves present openly their personal stories, despite that this subject is accompanied immediately by deep pain. Most of the students reach high achievements in studies at the college and merit great appreciation by the teachers of the college.

Nitzanei Mehut Preparatory Center for Young Adults with Learning Disabilities

The Mehut Center at the Kibbutzim College of Education in cooperation with Nitzan offer preparatory courses for academic studies for young adults with learning disabilities, who are planning to learn in any one of the institutions of higher education in Israel.

The preparation is holistic and multi-faceted, including academic-studying aspects, emotional-social aspects, and an aspect focusing on use of modern technology as an assistive tool.

The studies take place at the Kibbutzim College of Education for 14 weeks, four days a week, 25 hours a week. The preparatory course program is given by an academic faculty including lecturers and instructors from the best in Israel in the field of learning disabilities and the relevant fields of knowledge for the different courses.

Target Population

Young adults who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities and have a partial or complete bagrut (graduation credits) and are interested in joining an academic studies program at one of the institutions of higher education in Israel.

Center's Goals

The graduates of the preparatory course will be able upon completion of the course to:

1.       Choose the appropriate professional direction for themselves taking into consideration that strengths and interests

2.       To complete the process of adapting to studies at an institution for higher education relatively quickly and in a number of different aspects:

• Spatial orientation (finding their way around) in the institution - use of spatial orientation strategies
• Knowledge of the academic requirements - as a result of exposure to academic courses
• Ability to read and understand a syllabus
• Familiarity with the library: effective search for information

3.       To know the academic requirements in the areas of English, research methods, a variety of other areas of knowledge

4.       To define what is a "learning disability" in general and what is their learning disability. Which modifications will enable the advancement of their studies, and how to advocate for themselves in order to obtain these modifications.

5.       To feel more comfortable with the disability and to speak about it more openly

6.       To know how to use in an informed way learning strategies and technological modifications that are effective for them taking into consideration their strong and weak points

7.       To feel stronger and more confident with themselves, a more positive self image, to relate to the disability as a fact of life that is possible to deal with, and to become an independent learner, despite the limitations