Inclusion. It’s the “in” thing to do. It’s politically correct and it teaches “important life lessons.” But what is inclusion? Who are we including? Where? And how?
When you hear the word disability, what comes to mind? Different? Physical challenges? Intellectual disabilities? What about more hidden conditions like social difficulties, behavioral challenges, or mental illness?
Actor Edward Barbanell, an actor with Down Syndrome, said, “Don’t call us people with disabilities. We have DIFF-abilities.”
“When I think of someone different, I think of someone who has different things to contribute to a conversation,” said Michal Spigelman, Bais Yaakov 12th grader and Yachad high school board member. “Yachad has taught me what inclusion really means: making everyone feel that they belong.”
Yachad’s mission is just that, making everyone of all abilities feel welcome within the broader Jewish community. So, in honor of the month of February, which is North American Inclusion Month (NAIM), I suggest six ways to make your life more inclusive.
1. Help yourself be more inclusive. Have a conversation with someone who has different abilities than you do.
- Talk to someone you might not ordinarily approach.
- Say hello. Give a compliment. Just for a quick conversation at a store or at a kiddush. And just be yourself.
- Help your family be more inclusive.
- Invite someone with different abilities over for a Shabbos meal.
- Invite a child with special needs over for a playdate with your child.
- Invite someone from your neighborhood to go out for ice cream or shopping or maybe bowling.
- Attend a Yachad event or encourage your child/teen/college student to attend a Yachad event! Visit www.yachad.org/baltimore and/or email baltimoreyachad@ou.org for information about local events throughout the month!
3. Be more inclusive at school and camp.
- For students: Share your toy. Invite them to play your game. Even just sit next to someone at lunch or on the bus. Just being there makes a difference.
- Teachers and youth leaders: Consider whether an accommodation on your special needs student’s IEP (Individualized Education Program) might benefit all your students. Engage the whole class in a short sensory movement break, for example, or allow all your students to sit on the floor for a class period to complete independent work, listen to a book on tape so no one student is reading, or do a hands-on cooking lesson for math. Consider what could work in your classroom.
- Teachers and administrators: 1) Bring in a qualified professional (from Yachad and Shemesh/CJE) to provide a “Standing in My Shoes” sensitivity workshop for your students to better understand their peers who have a disability. Yachad runs these workshops regularly. 2) Organize professional development conferences to bring teacher training directly to your school.
Baltimore was pleased to host one of Yachad’s four annual conferences on February 4th at the Park Heights JCC. The keynote speaker was Rick Lavoie, world-renowned presenter on inclusion. In addition, Dr. Jay Lucker shared his expertise on auditory processing. Other workshops included topics such as teaching kriah, teaching students with ADHD, building literacy skills, and creating appropriate assessments for all students.
Yachad is pleased to hold this year’s conference in partnership with The CJE of Baltimore, Shemesh, Agencies of The Associated, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, and Sulam. These agencies are partners in Yachad’s mission of inclusion, and offer resources in the greater Baltimore community as well.
For information from Yachad on how to make your school more inclusive, contact Batya Jacobs, Director of Educational Services for Yachad, at batyaj@ou.org.
- For campers, counselors, and camp staff: Consider attending an inclusive summer program! Visit https://www.yachad.org/summer/ to see Yachad’s 23+ different inclusive programs.
4. Be more inclusive at shul.
- Start an inclusion committee.
- Include children with challenges into your nursery, youth and teen programming.
- Ask on membership forms what accommodations members might need.
- Have large-print siddurim and chumashim.
- Have a wide doorway, ramps at entry, and ramps at the bimah to allow wheelchair access.
- Have a sign language interpreter for services or speeches. (In Baltimore, JADE, Jewish Advocates for Deaf Education, at the Center for Jewish Education can help with this: https://www.cjebaltimore.org/jade).
- Order Yachad’s (free!) Purim power point for individuals who are hard of hearing, have visual challenges, and children with attention and focusing issues and more. Order by February 20th at https://www.yachad.org/purimpowerpoint/.
5. Be more inclusive in the community and workplace.
- If he or she is qualified for the job, consider hiring an individual with disabilities in your workplace.
- Support businesses that employ individuals with disabilities.
- Support businesses that feature individuals with disabilities in their advertisements. Did you know Gap, Nordstrom’s and Target have all done so? Did you know local kids’ clothing store Belle Bambini does? Want to learn more about individuals with disabilities featured in advertisements? Visit Changing the Face of Beauty at changingthefaceofbeauty.org.
- Support Yachad Gifts! Yachad Gifts is an affiliate of the Jewish Union Foundation, which provides comprehensive vocational services to the disability community. JUF employs individuals of varying levels of ability in every aspect of the business, including designing, purchasing, packaging, shipping, delivering, data entry, sales, and customer service.
Yachad has a beautiful array of gifts for any occasion. Please visit YachadGifts.com or call the showroom toll free at 1-855-505-7500. If you are in New York, visit the showroom at 1090 Coney Island Avenue.
All Yachad Gifts products are kosher certified under one of the five major hechsherim: OU, OK, Kaf-K, Star-K, and CRC.
6. Become involved in Baltimore Yachad!
- Contact us to become more involved:
Mira Labovitz, Baltimore Yachad Coordinator, baltimoreyachad@ou.org
Ezri Klein, Assistant Coordinator, Kleine@ou.org
Miriam (Bunny) Rosenberg, Assistant Coordinator, rosenbergm@ou.org
Sima Greenblatt, High school Liaison, Program Assistant, greenblatts@ou.org
- Visit us at www.yachad.org/baltimore.
- Like our organization page on Facebook at “Yachad Baltimore.”
- Support Yachad. Donate at Yachad.org/Baltimore/donate.
- For information about Yachad outside the Baltimore area, please visit www.Yachad.org or contact the National (NY) Yachad office at 212-613-8229.
