Israel is different to anywhere else in the world. And, if you expect things to happen here like they do elsewhere you’ll be sorely disappointed. Take this program for example. We were emailed a schedule that Milla’s first class would commence at 9:15 on Sunday morning (the weekend here is Friday and Saturday, Sunday is a regular weekday). So when Milla and I arrived at 9:03am looking for an orientation or at least someone to welcome us and explain what the structure of the day looked like we were waiting for a while… kind of like the new kids on our first day of school. People just walked past us busy, with a purpose. Eventually I flagged down a janitor (I think!) who had no idea what I was asking for but got someone from the office to help us. She confirmed we were in fact in the correct building (a relief!) and that they were expecting us (even bigger relief!)!

She gave us a brief introduction (this is the board which shows when your classes are, this is the kitchen) but somehow managed to leave us even more confused (we didn’t even know where to find the bathroom and how to use the coffee machine!). But it was OK… I could handle Israeli chaos. Suddenly, an old school friend was there with his son and I knew we could navigate the craziness together (and laugh about how confused we were!). 4 sessions a day, 45mins each with 15mins break in between. OK… I’ve got this. Bring it on!

A kind lady came to find us and took her into her room for session 1 for the day. No introduction, no explanation, no decoration on the walls… yet before I knew it Milla was doing some strange yoga class, imitating animals in her downward dog and cobra poses. Milla was enjoying herself so I just enjoyed watching this strange therapy. At the end of the class the teacher explained that she was a cognitive therapist and that she worked through movement, focusing on imitation and self regulation.

We then sat in the middle area like puppies at a pet store, waiting for our next therapist to come and find us. A speech therapy session. A more traditional teacher, this was more like what we have been doing at home and Milla knew what was going on and started resisting a little – she hadn’t signed up to work this hard! Lots of room for improvement here – in fact this is the very reason we came.

Our third class was a cognition session and possibly the most intellectually challenging. No surprises that Milla wasn’t so impressed with this class – this was super tough! Our therapist was focusing on patterns and understanding them and then being able to replicate them. For example, she had an image of beads stacked onto a bar and asked Milla to recreate this bar with loose beads. She also asked Milla to follow a pattern in sticking stickers onto a page. This was a challenging class to watch as Milla wasn’t particularly cooperative as she fatigued. However, the idea behind this is that a structured approach to problem solving will be helpful in all facets of life, particularly reading.

Finally we had a class with a school teacher who instantly managed to develop a beautiful rapport with Milla by sharing their commonalities i.e. foods, animals, siblings. Once they finished this activity they again worked on patterns and turn taking, which will be an important theme throughout all of the therapy.

We were extremely clever and managed to start the program the day after the clocks changed, which means that Milla was awake from 6am! Even though she had a nap after lunch she was so glad to go to bed at night, a testament to how hard she worked during the day. Hopefully she will sleep well every night to replenish before huge days ahead.

Initial thoughts – this is definitely unlike anything I’ve ever seen! There is a consistency to the approach that each of the therapists maintains which uses a logical framework, regardless of the therapist’s particular discipline or specialty. It will be tough – Milla will work hard but will also play hard. The methodology is very quick to praise and encourage even attempts, and Milla is thriving on this, her confidence increasing with each correct answer. However, I know we are where we need to be and that Milla will achieve great things on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. I’m excited for what the program will bring! On a personal note I have now mastered coffee making and have found the cleanest bathroom… things are looking up!

Stay tuned for more updates shortly.

J x