There is no parent in this world who prays for a handicapped or mentally retarded baby. All prayers are for a baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes and everything to be all right.

Most parents are blessed with the answer to that prayer. However, some are blessed with a slightly different answer. Those parents become the parents of a special child. While that child is young, his differences do not seem so great, as the parents and family think: Our child will outgrow his problems. He will do better than the doctors think. Therapy will help. My child will improve significantly and be almost normal. He will have a normal future.

While the child is still little, funding is not too difficult to secure for his special needs. Doctors recommend agencies that can be of assistance. Besides, the child is so cute!

As the child grows, a shuffle develops, perhaps a drool sets in, his attention span is short, things that should not be funny are. Persons notice the differences more. Whispers or snickers do not go unheard. Other children and teens pick on him and get him in trouble when he tries to stand up for himself. His ability to learn has reached its peak at third grad. Schools keep trying to teach him fractions, division, history, science, things that have no meaning for him. REALITY SETS IN.

This wonderful child who is your son or daughter is not going to be able to survive out in the competitive world. This child, who is so special to your is not special to others, but is taken advantage of, stared at, and avoided. He is going to need sheltered employment if he is to grow up to be a productive individual and feel good about himself. That is why Akim Israel  a number of years ago formed into support groups and then worked for legislation to create sheltered workshops. Because those parents understood that the productive capabilities of their children were not as great as the productive capabilities of persons in competitive employment, they worked to pass further legislation to provide funding to establish sheltered workshops and keep them operating.

I am so pleased and thankful to Akim that these programs are available to my son.

We wish Akim Israel supporters and friends around the world a "Passover blessed with peace, happiness and most of all good health".

Akim donations account in Israel: BANK LEUMI LE-ISRAEL
BRANCH 682, HABARZEL 25. TEL AVIV 69710
acc. No 700000/93, Swift code No LUMIILITXXX