A Message to our Readers

Over the years, I have learned that parents generally know better than anyone else what their special-needs children require. Parents know their children best and have experienced their reactions under a variety of circumstances. This has helped them develop a sixth sense that sometimes flies in the face of conventional wisdom. This is true in educational, behavioral, and even medical issues. On many occasions, I have seen parents’ intuition proven to be the right course over the objections of “experts.”

On the other hand, raising a child with a disability can be overwhelming, especially if the child has a complicated medical condition or severe behavioral issues. Parents can sometimes lose perspective, and they must be open to listening and accepting advice from others, such as people with special expertise, more experience, or da’as Torah.

The key is to know when to stand your ground and when to bow to the advice of others. One way of determining the proper approach is to designate an impartial individual, one who is familiar with your circumstances and has some familiarity with what it means to raise a child with a developmental disability. This can be a close friend, a doctor, or a Rav, anyone that will give you an open and honest opinion. This person will be the one to whom you turn when you are being told that you are not on the right track, have lost proper perspective, or when the direction to take is not clear.

Continued Hatzlacha,

Rabbi Simon Lauber
Founder & CEO

Founder & CEO
Rabbi Simon Lauber
slauber@spiritmag.org

Editor-in-Chief
Gershon Sabol
gershon@spiritmag.org

Rabbinical Advisory Board
Rabbi Chaim L. Rottenberg, shlita
Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, shlita

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Dini Sternhill
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Yaakov Steinhart

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Rivky Kopstick
Chaya Yitty Rottenberg
Sara L. Sabo
Michelle Steinhart

Contributors
Rabbi Shmuel Abramson, Ed.D.
Elise Cohen
Esther Cohen
Lori Miller Fox
Tziri Frank
Zeema Renee Gersten
Chaya Goldstein
Shani Margolis
Bassie Meghnagi
Galia Morgenstern
Avraham Yaakov Morgenstern
Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum
Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D.
Chana Shofos
Leah Sigal
Dubbie Simon
Kamalathara Srikanth
Dena Yellin
Shana Zakai MA/OTRL