Changing Attitudes and Inclusion

The vision of Beit Issie Shapiro is to work for a society that guarantees children and adults with varied disabilities the right to maximum opportunity for growth and participation in the life of the community. We therefore attribute great importance to creating inclusion programs from early childhood, with the belief that the child and the family have the right to take part in the life of the community in which they live, and enjoy its services.

Based on this approach, The Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center at Beit Issie Shapiro holds a variety of inclusion programs, affording different levels of exposure to the community. These include a reverse inclusion program, group inclusion, and individual inclusion in the communities of origin.

Through the Chen Youth Leadership Program we train groups of youth aged 13 -15 as leaders, teach them about disability issues and help them become powerful advocates for inclusion of people with disabilities. Research shows that the most critical age for the development of social identity and attitudes is young adolescence. With the Chen Program, we are taking advantage of this window of opportunity to create a grassroots movement to change negative attitudes towards people with disabilities – and at the same time ensure that Israel has a cadre of future leaders who will promote inclusive attitudes towards people with disabilities.

Please also visit our Knowledge Database for additional materials on this topic.