We are excited to share news of a wonderful opportunity for our Chaverim students.  You may have heard of our “Steam Team.”  We started this group 4 years ago for Martin, one of our 6th grade students (at that time).  The Steam Team provided incredible opportunities for both Martin and his classmates.  The group met…

Yesterday Martin was called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah. Our hearts are full. Today I am reflecting on the lines from Exodus that inspired the title of this blog: Moses said to the Lord, “I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday, nor from the time You…

Martin’s Bar Mitzvah day is almost here. After months of weekly practice sessions and years of planning and going back to the drawing board and planning some more, we are just about ready to achieve a goal we once thought we wouldn’t even try to achieve.  It’s hard now to remember the days when Martin…

Funny how there are issues which you think are someone else’s problem. Until one day it becomes yours as well. I’ve been aware of some of some of the accessibility problems in our building.  A few months ago, I even recommended an accessibility expert, who came out to do an assessment of our facility.  But…

Sometimes you aren’t even looking, but you find a recipe that is a keeper.  People are like that, too–you are just doing your job and, BAM, it happens-a spark starts and friendship grows. For many years I have admired the Langer family from afar.  There have been opportunities to connect through our children.  Bea and…

It’s funny how a thing takes on a life of its own. You may begin a project with one idea in mind, and then something else—something unexpected and better—happens instead. Last month an infographic made its way around social media as part of a disability awareness campaign. Four images (shown above) reflect the differences between…

At a recent inclusion committee meeting, one topic of discussion was “invisible” disability, such as mental illness, in adults. The question was what, if anything, can the synagogue do to help these adults feel more included. How we even get them to identify themselves? There has always been such a stigma around mental illness. However,…

When special education teachers work with Martin, they adapt curriculums to help him meet his educational goals. We are trying to take a similar approach to helping Martin fully participate in his Bar Mitzvah service. Jeff and I are not specialists in autism education, but over the years we’ve worked with many speech, occupational, and…

This past month I took Martin to our synagogue’s first All-Religious-School Shabbat service, a family-friendly Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat with songs and class presentations that featured interactive percussion performances. The atmosphere was warm and casual, and the Sufrin sanctuary was nearly full when we arrived more than a few minutes late. I scanned the room,…

This month the Steam Team’s meeting was a Chanukah Extravaganza! In addition to working together to help Martin with his Bar Mitzvah preparation, the Steam Team friends lit the menorah, played with trains (of course!), and topped off the session by making sufganiot with Morah Carole.  Step 1 when making sufganiot? Flour your hands! You can…