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Steps to
inclusion
Early childhood inclusion programs at Beit Issie Shapiro
A variety of programs are in operation at Beit Issie Shapiro’s Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention
Center. The Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center is an educational and rehabilitation center for
children aged 0 -3 with developmental disabilities, and their families. The underlying professional
concept is to operate a family-focused center. This is based on the understanding that the toddler's
family - parents, siblings and grandparents - is his/her primary and most significant environment.
The center and its staff work in accordance with the trans-disciplinary model that sees the child
as whole, unique and special, and allows his/her needs and his/her development to be studied.
Underlying the work of the staff is the belief that every child has the ability to develop and play an
active and enjoyable part in his/her natural environment, in a professional environment adapted to
his/her needs. The guiding principle is that early intervention is vital and significant for the child and
his/her family, and makes it possible for him/her to have a better quality of life.
A number of programs at the Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center offer children different levels
of exposure to the typical environments: partial inclusion in the home community, group inclusion
in an early childhood kindergarten in the central region, and reverse inclusion. At the same time, all
the inclusion programs have the same objectives and principles:
Objectives of the inclusion programs
• Adjustment and coping with a changing, dynamic and unexpected environments.
• Exposure to a range of age-appropriate stimuli and contents.
• Providing opportunities for experiencing contact with children of the same age, and
building meaningful social interactions in an inclusive environment.
• Exposure to peers without disabilities that will provide a role model and reinforce
linguistic, communication, social, and motor skills.
• Implementing methods of communication and play in a normative environment.
• Creating a continuum in which each child can enjoy a typical environment in a way that is
adapted to his/her needs.
• Creating an infrastructure for positive attitudes in the community - encouraging values of respect
for every individual and respect for the “other.”