Rachel: Because my daughter was NOT classified with ADHD, all of her therapy is completely out of pocket. The evaluation process was 100% covered by the state (she wasn’t given a classification at the end of it.) [The evaluator privately told Rachel her daughter probably has ADHD but the evaluation failed to turn up specific indications for the condition. V.E.]
Varda: Are you satisfied with the system as it is? What would you change, if you could?
Rachel: I am relatively happy. The school my ADHD (suspected) daughter is in is very good at working with us. The two major things I would change would be:
1. An ability to get gifted status if actually evaluated and classified outside of Israel to be acknowledged and accepted (and therefore addressed) here in Israel.
2. For children who come here with a basic level of Hebrew – as opposed to basically none – to still receive sufficient assistance. It has been our consistent experience in schools across the board that our children have suffered “reverse discrimination.” What I mean by that, is that because they speak Hebrew, they haven’t been given all of the help they are entitled to, they have been pushed to “mainstream” too much too fast.
Varda: What advice do you have for prospective Olim on the subject of child education?
Rachel: It is VERY important to do research before you come.
The very best thing I did after getting here and having an evaluation suggested for my ADHD child, was to ask for a meeting with a neighbor who is Anglo [Israeli slang for anyone from an English-speaking country] and an expert on ADHD. I asked her to tell me everything the system wouldn’t tell me, and what I should do, not what does the system tell me to do. I followed her advice to the letter and was commended later for it by the evaluator, the therapist and even the school (!). Everything we have done and learned regarding the gifted students has also come from speaking to more experienced Olim, not through the system.
Varda: What obstacles have you encountered in getting your children what they need and how have you attempted to solved them? Have you been successful on the whole?
Rachel: Again, getting a straight answer through traditional channels is very difficult. Everything we have gotten for them has been through pushing, nicely, and working from without the system. And we aren’t done. After more than a year we are still fighting for answers and to get our children what they need.
Our 13 year-old daughter has to take her high school entrance exams very soon, and we still cannot get a straight answer as to exactly what help she is entitled to as an olah.
There is a prevailing attitude of laziness coming from the staff within the system. So we expect them to only cooperate when we do most of the work. Which we do. When I took my (other) daughter outside of the system to a therapist and then asked the school to listen to his recommendations, they were very happy to do so. But I had to make the effort and bring it to them. Having moved here on my own when I was younger I had never expected anything different.
Varda: How do you see the future of your children?
Rachel: My kids are thriving here. But we have had to be very, very proactive, and I expect that we will have to remain so.
My husband has created a full program for learning / mastering Hebrew terms and vocabulary outside of the classroom. It takes almost no time for the kids to do, but takes time for him. And it has made a huge difference for the kids. But we have had to invest a lot of time in vigilance and see it as part of our role here. There are other things that took our time and energy as parents in the US, and this is just a part of what we are adjusting to as part of life here.