I don't know whether you are looking into chassidishe or non-chassidishe yeshivas. You can certainly call Leah Steinberg at Agudath Israel's office and discuss it with her. She has a wealth of information about yeshivas that deal with students who have special needs - the entire spectrum. You might also want to contact the BJE - Board of Jewish Education. They even have a branch called the Board of Jewish Education for Special Education.
In Brooklyn there is the ICHUD program, which was modelled after the CAHAL program in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. They also do wonderful things for students who are borderline - can't quite make it in a regular classroom, but don't quite belong with students who are severely cognitively impaired. Give 'em a try. Good luck. Gut Shabbos. Sarah S.

My son has mild AS and has been in quite a few school settings because of his unique situation and due to the fact that we've moved quite a bit. Now B"H he is fully mainstreamed in a jewish day school (not an easy feat) and we are working with the school and outside support to best tailor his learning and behavior exceptionalities to help him fit in both academically and socially the best that he could. It has been a tremendous challenge as we need to constantly assess the abilities and shortcomings of our child and be his advocates in a system that doesn't really understand these children or what makes them tick (after all we are still learning ourselves). I try to be realistic but idealistic as well and challenge my child to reach his potential. I also ask the school to set their goals just a little bit higher,too. It's hard for him to stay focused in class, although academically he's very bright, and his major issue is getting the social picture of what's going on around him. I wish you hatzlacha in finding the right setting for your child. We've done it all...cheder, special ed, day school, public school, etc If I can give someone else out there a little chizuk I would be delighted and maybe get some ideas and suggestions as well. Thank you frumsupport for creating this forum, I think it can be well utilized.

What is spirit magazine? I would love to read that article.

Our son Avi, now 10 in 4th grade, is also HF and very bright. He has been in the regular class at Yeshiva Har Torah in Queens since kindergarten, and has had a full-time para since 2nd grade. It's gone very well, and the yeshiva has been supportive, but we're also hitting the wall in terms of his ability to control his emotional outbursts, and we're struggling with what to do with him next year and beyond. You may also find Kulanu to be a very helpful organization, particularly its Kulanu Torah Academy. Good luck to us all! {Jonathan}

Our son has been GF and CF for years, and while we haven't seen any miraculous behavior changes, it did help some major digestive problems he had.

One lifesaver has been a really easy, good recipe for GF/CF bread, from Lisa Lewis' Special Diets for Special Kids. Note that it's not a particularly doughy mix--we end up mixing the ingredients in an electric mixer until they're the consistency of thick pancake batter, then pour into a bread pan or onto a cookie sheet. For rolls, just spoon out circles. This quantity makes about 1 normal loaf plus 3-4 rolls, but your mileage may vary with the size of your baking pans. Remember to allow room to rise.

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white rice flour (We use Goya)
2 cups tapioca starch (We use Ener-G)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 heaping tsp xanthan gum
2/3 cup Vance's DariFree powder

Yeast Prep (put in separate cup, and allow yeast to begin rising before adding to rest of ingredients):
2 tsps sugar
1/2 cup warm water
4 heaping tsp dry yeast

Wet ingredients:
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp brown rice vinegar or cider vinegar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup warm water

After mixing and pouring into/onto baking surface, allow to rise, then bake for 20-25 mins (for rolls) to 50 mins (for full bread) in 400 degree oven. The bread actually looks and tastes good, although it goes stale very quickly. Enjoy! {Jonathan}

Our middle son, who's not on the spectrum, also showed the same sensitivity to gluten (though not dairy). We spotted it (so to speak) because of his loose stools, and had him checked. He ended up showing "soft signs" for celiac, though no damage (thank Hashem) to his cilia yet. Both boys have been on gluten-free diets ever since.

My daughter was kept gluten-free via my wife through gestation and the nursing period, just in case. She, thank Hashem, appears to be able to eat everything. {Jonathan}

We actually use some biomedical approches to treating our son who is 4 1/2. We were gfcf, now we are on the specific carb diet and we are giving MB12 shots and are currently starting supplements. We have also done the Sensory Learning Approach with him (not to helpful for him). I would be interested in finding out more about the Pfeiffer institute, what they do etc.

-meira

I switched to the SCD diet from my own research. It does not allow for potatoes or rice either, no sugar, except honey it is much more restrictive. The book that explains it all is "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. It is basically no carbs except for those found in some fruits and vegetables. It also does not allow for buying things store bought. We make our own applecause, mayo etc.

The MB12 shots as well as the suuplements are being prescribed to us by our DAN doctor, Dr. James Neubrander in Edison, NJ. Are you familiar with DAN protocol?

Let me know what other info. helpful.

meira

Tonight, my first time on this web site, I felt a little relief. As terrible as this may sound, it lightens my load to hear from other frum people in similar situations like myself. I feel like the whole world is going on and my life has stopped.
I have two children, 4 years old and 2years old. My 4 year old is very smart and is very high functioning PDD. My second child also has alot of developmental delays. I am busy with them 24/7. I just feel like this is what Hashem has created me for. To take care of my kid's issues. I lost most of my social contacts because I have little in common with anyone anymore and everyone's worries seem so silly to me compared to what I am busy with. I just feel so alone.
Coming onto this web site has been a great relief and source of information.

Regarding GF/CF diet:
I my older child has been on it for 8 months. I have not seen it improving his behaviors but he used to have ezcema and bowel issues. It has subsided a bit. The diet is especially hard for us since my son has allergies to many other foods that others may use as a substitute in this diet.

I know there is controversy on medical intervention. But we are doing it now with my son, and have had a big breakthrough in his behavior issues. He is finally able to learn without constant interruptions with tantrums. There are many different medication to explore. I am not referring to strong ones (risperidal or abilify). My son is now on ritalin, even though he does not have ADD, and B"AH it is really calming him down. I think it is worth exploring.

I also find this forum a relief - as I also feel cut off from many of my friends / neighbours due to my intensive involvement in helping my son, plus doing eveything else life demands! But it is also very clear to me that this is my avodas Hashem - that I am doing exactly what Hashem wants me to be doing - and that is a good feeling.
Re. DAN doctors: There are NO DAN doctors in Israel. The whole reason we went ot the Pfeiffer Tx Center is that we've been trying to do all these biomedical interventions on our own from Israel, and haven't been too successful. We felt our son deserved a chance of significant improvement via proper medical intervention - now or never (he is 10 1/2 already). My daughter (3 1/2) also exhibits many of the biomedical issues my son has. Thank G-d we never immunized her - I can only imagine what her upside-down poor detox system would have done with immunizations! We are trying to do testing for her from here - via the GReat Plains LAbs (we couldn't afford to take both of them to the USA. SHe, B"H is not at all on the spectrum). In short, I would like to find a DAN doctor who might be willing to help supervise us from a distance. That is, we would do all the biomedical testing from here, send the results to the doctor, along with any other info. needed, and would follow any protocol of treatment they would then prescribe based on the teat results. If anyone out there has a doctor who is worth contacting in this matter - please let me know. It would be a great mitzva to us.
SHabbat SHalom to all,
LEah Hochbaum