The ADI 4 You Special Babysitter initiative took a giant step forward in their goal to connect parents of children with disabilities with potential babysitters by organizing a national virtual ZOOM conference and announcing the timely launching of the new Special Babysitter website.
On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, participants in ADI Jerusalem’s Special Babysitter initiative from around the country gathered together for a virtual conference that included informative and stimulating lectures and group discussions about the program, its capabilities and future growth potential.
Invitation to the conference
The conference opened with the presentation of a new website, specifically created to facilitate communication between parents and potential babysitters. Linked to the existing ADI 4 You hotline site, the new landing page provides an another channel for easy and efficient contact, in addition to the present regional WhatsApp groups or Facebook.
In consideration of the different issues concerning the parents and the babysitters, the next segment of the conference offered two separate lectures, focusing on issues specific to each group.
Speaking to potential babysitters about “Entering the Home of a Family with a Child with Disabilities,” Sarah Maychur expounded on points such as how the family functions in day-to-day situations and how to build trust with family members. Sarah, a social worker who works with families of children with disabilities and who was the mother of a child with disabilities who passed away at an early age, emphasized that the presence of a reliable person on whom the family can rely contributes immensely to the family’s quality of life, enabling them short respites from the constant pressures surrounding their daily lives.
In a lecture aimed at parents of children with disabilities, social worker Hadassah Cohen spoke about the need to involve one’s surroundings, to speak about the challenges inherent in raising a child with disabilities and the importance of accepting assistance from others, including family, friends and available organizations, in order to preserve quality of life for the entire family and to enable the other children to blossom and develop. Hadassah, mother of a child with cognitive and physical developmental delays, is a parental guidance counselor and writer of a regular column on Ynet regarding family issues.
Upon conclusion of the lecture session, conference participants reunited for a final session in which Chagit Ron Rabinowitz spoke about siblingship, with specific emphasis on how to ensure that all family members receive the attention they need to develop and live guilt-free lives and eventually come to realize the many ways in which the child with disabilities contributed to their family. Chagit is a filmmaker, journalist and mother of a child with disabilities.
This first-of-its-kind ZOOM conference reached over 70 participants, all of whom left uplifting comments regarding the importance and impact of the material discussed.
“As the sister of a sibling with disabilities and a mother, I totally identified with this conference. Thank you so much.”
“Every point mentioned this evening is so important. I want to implement everything.”
“This was a fascinating conference. There is no organization like you! Kudos!”
The conference was organized and led by the program’s dedicated administrator and student program coordinators, whose work is made possible through funding from our generous program supporters.
