March 10, 2000

Parents of children with special needs are often bombarded with information about new remedies that purport to offer the ultimate cure for their child’s particular condition. And, in their zeal to help their child, many parents are persuaded to try the newest treatments in the hopes that they will, indeed, solve at least some of their child’s problems.

On Sunday, March 19^th, from 11:15–3PM, the National Jewish Council for the Disabled (NJCD) will offer a free conference at the Edward R. Murrow High School, 1600 Avenue L in Brooklyn, to help parents of children with special needs (of all ages) explore some of the legitimate alternative therapies that are currently being offered. The conference will provide parents with the opportunity to meet professionals in the fields of music, art, touch and vision therapy – just to name a few – to learn about how their treatment models can help children and adults with special needs. Social workers and psychologists will be on-hand to help parents consider these alternative treatments with an eye toward augmenting traditional therapies – rather than replacing them – and approaching new options with realistic expectations for treatment outcomes.

"As parents, we all want to do everything we can for our children," said Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, National Director of the NJCD, a multi-faceted agency of the Orthodox Union. "Parents of children with special needs want to exercise all of their options when it comes to taking care of their kids. They want to tap into all of their child’s potential. And certainly, many alternative therapies are worth exploring. As one component of an overall treatment plan, things like music or art therapy, chiropractic or dietary programs can prove quite helpful – in some cases."

At the free conference, representatives from the MTA-Reduced Fare Program and the Access-A-Ride program will also be on-hand to help facilitate the application process for these special transportation services.

While parents are attending workshops on the new treatment options, children of all ages – both with and without special needs – can attend the NJCD Good Sports program, which will take place on the high school premises. A monthly sporting event, Good Sports brings together individuals with special needs – ages 9-55 – and student athletes from public and private schools throughout the NY metropolitan region for inclusive, non-competitive sporting activities including basketball, hockey, aerobics and volleyball.

Over the past few years, New York City Commissioner of Sports Ken Podziba has attended a number of Good Sports events and participated in the fun alongside the student players. Impressed with the success of the program, Commissioner Podziba has reported on Good Sports to Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The mayor has expressed interest in attending the March 19^th Good Sports event.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of America and beyond, is the world leader in youth work, advocacy for the disabled, synagogue services, adult education and political action. Its kosher supervision label, the OU, is the world's most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on nearly 250,000 products in 68 countries around the globe.

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Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Department of Public Relations Sharyn Perlman, Director Main Office: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Phone: 212-613-8321 Fax: 212-564-9058 E-mail: media@ou.org

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